Stormy Starre
by Stormy - Starre
Summary: Opposites: Happy, Sad. Good, Bad. Black, White. Left, Right. Light, Dark. Lilac Starre, Penny Storm. Opposites.
1. Chapter 1

****Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. But I do own Penny Storm and Lilac Starre. Enjoy!

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**Chapter 1 - Letters**

**Penny**

I was waiting. Waiting for something to happen. Waiting for something to cure my boredom. Waiting for my best friend, Lilac, to get home from London. Waiting for my Hogwarts letter. Waiting for my parents to get home from work. I lay back on my bed, and grabbed Hogwarts: A History to read because Lilac was forcing me to. I was halfway through chapter five, when I heard a hoot and a tapping.

There was a barn owl outside the window with a letter.

A letter that had the Hogwarts seal on it.

YESSSS! I opened the window, grabbed it, and set it down on the dining table like my parents had told me to (gosh, I _really_ wanted to open that thing) and continued to read (SOOO BORING, I mean, who needs to know this stuff?).

**Lilac**

As I was reciting Hogwarts: A History to a few of my cousins in London (who were clapping and cheering for my photographic memory), my mom rudely interrupted. "Lilac, say good-bye to Lavender and Aunt Delphinium, dear." WHY do we all have names that are flowers? Lavender Brown is my first cousin, her baby sister is Marigold, and some of my other cousins include Cosmo, Daisy, Rose, Eric John (yes, this is a flower), Dahlia, Ivy, Lumex, and Amaryllis. I mean, even the guys are flowers! I'm _Lilac _Starre. And there are tons more – all flowers. I counted one time; in all there were 52 first, second, and third cousins. 52 FLOWERS! (Sorry, that was kind of unnecessary, but I just had to make my point.)

I reluctantly threw my arms around Lavender. "Oh, bye Lilac!" she exclaimed. "Don't forget to do your hair EVERY DAY and your nails and DEFINITELY go get your ears pierced and…"

Fortunately, she was drowned out by the roar of the fire as I tossed some glittering green Floo Powder into it. I jumped in and shouted, "THE STARRE!" and after a very uncomfortable swirling sensation, I had traveled from Lavender's house in London into the fireplace of my house. I had calculated the time from my house to London- by Floo Powder, it was 30 seconds, by Apparition, it was 15 seconds, by broom, it was 2 hours, by muggle airplane, it was 1 hour, by muggle car, it was 4 hours…"

I didn't realize that I was standing there staring into space, but I could practically hear the little gears in my brain whirring around. I made myself snap back into reality and sped next door to my somewhat evil, obviously Slytherin, best friend Penny Storm's house.

**Penny**

As I was starting chapter 13, I heard a knock on my door. I peeked out of my strategically placed window overlooking the path up to the door, and there she was. My super genius, destined to be in Ravenclaw, best friend: Lilac Starre. "Hey, long time no owl!" I called down.

"Sorry. My evil aunt wanted me to spend time with 'darling Lavender.' That girl gives me the creeps because she's so perfect.. Not remotely evil like you are," she yelled up to my open window.

"Who cares if I'm slightly evil? Let me open the door." I sprinted down the long, old hallway with pictures of my extended family, all pure-blood of course. There was a picture of me and my brothers; Leo, who would be starting his fifth year in Ravenclaw, and Raphael, a soon-to-be Gryffindor third year. I looked so innocent in that picture; it made my mom wonder how I changed into my clever, cunning self.. I put on a burst of speed and flew down the stairs to unlock the door. We, being the girls we are, screamed and hugged.

As we walked into the dining room heading to the stairs, Lilac stopped in place. "You got it?"

"Yeah, just about an hour or two ago, when I was dying of boredom."

"Sooo lucky. Mine hasn't come yet."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious, because if you had you would have told me first thing. I can keep not-so-important secrets; you just blurt 'em out."

"Hey!" she protested, knowing I was right.

"So your Aunt Delphinium really is evil? I thought you were kidding!"

"Yeah, she is. That's exactly why I didn't want to go to London. You know how much of a bore my extended family is."

"Seriously. I've met all 52." I laughed.

"What house do ya wanna be in?" Lilac asked.

"Any, I guess."

"Even Slytherin?"

"That's my number one."

"Girls?" Lilac's mother walked in.

"Hello Mrs. Starre. How was London?" I asked, using my Slytherin charmingness, as my mother and Lilac called it.

"Splendid. But Lilac might want to home now because a very important owl is waiting for her."

Lilac and I exchanged a knowing look as she said, "See you 'round Stormy."

"See ya Starre," I said as she strolled out of the house.

**Lilac**

I got it! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! I wondered why Penny got hers first, because we were next-door neighbors. Hmm…

"Lilac?" My mom interrupted my thoughts.

"Huh? Oh right, the letter. Sorry. I was in smart-land." I ripped open the envelope bearing the Hogwarts Crest and read the two pages at super-speed. Then I zoomed back to Penny's house and knocked.

"WHAT!" she said with an air of being annoyed around her.

"It's me!" I yelled.

"Oops. Sorry Lilac. WHAT!" I guess I was treated the same as whoever she anticipated coming to the door. That's Penny for you.

"Will you come to Diagon Alley with me tomorrow?"

"Sure. MOM, I'M GOING TO DIAGON ALLEY TOMORROW WITH LILAC! BYE!" She zipped upstairs and came back with a sleepover bag and a book. Then she beat me to my house, picked the lock, and ran up to my room.

"Penny, I had a key!" I screamed. No use reasoning with that girl.

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	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

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**Chapter 2: Diagon Alley**

**Penny**

Diagon Alley looked different. It seemed much more important than it had the other times I'd been. I suspected it was because I was holding a Hogwarts letter in my hand, and that I would be getting my school supplies. We went to Gringotts to get gold; I LOVED the roller-coaster-like mine train, and the goblins were intriguing enough.

We walked, or more technically jogged, to Madame Malkin's to get our robes, and when we were halfway through getting fitted, a boy with hair light enough to rival my blonde locks walked in. Our parents instantly recognized each other, so I knew that they must have known each other from work. We stepped down and were introduced to the Malfoys. Their son, Draco, was entering Hogwarts too. He played seeker in Quidditch, and he was so cute! He knew that he was going to be a Slytherin. Lilac said that's where she thought I was heading, so I elbowed her and basically said the same thing, adding that I didn't really care as long as I wasn't a Hufflepuff, they were a bunch of softies. I told Draco that Lilac was a Ravenclaw shoe-in, and she did to me the same thing I had done to her about a minute ago. He just smirked at us, and I just glowered back at him. He did seem like a Slytherin I knew we would be instant frenemies, or competitive friends...

**Lilac**

When my older sister had first gone to Diagon Alley about 8 years ago, I hadn't come, so the whole place was a huge surprise. Gringotts was awesome, and in Madam Malkin's, I guess Penny and I both embarrassed each other a little, but I immediately disliked Draco Malfoy. I think he disapproved of my knee-length, silky, dark brown hair and blue-purple, almost lilac eyes,, but he definitely liked Penny's short blond hair, just a little lighter than his, and her electric green eyes.  
Next, we went to the apothecary, which was disgusting, bought our potions supplies, and then stopped at Flourish and Blott's for our books. I marveled at the books inside- it was like my heaven. Books were my life. There were mini books barely bigger than my fingernail to some as tall as me. There were books that uttered bloodcurdling screams when opened and some that jinxed you if you tried to close them. We picked up our course books and Penny literally had to drag me out of the shop.

Our next stop was Eeylops Owl Emporium. Inside it was dim, and after I adjusted to the dark I could see about 50 pairs of huge eyes staring at us, all belonging to owls. Penny picked out a pure black one with lime green eyes, and I got a beautiful snowy white one mottled with brown dots on her wings and giant, light blue eyes.

Now it was time for the moment I had been waiting for the most… getting my wand. The others waited outside while I slowly stepped into the small shop. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of boxes piled up to the ceiling. I didn't see any sign of Mr. Ollivander, but then suddenly I could make out two giant orbs staring at me. I stared right back.

"Good afternoon, Lilac Starre," a voice whispered.

"Um, hello," I said back. I sounded unnaturally loud.

Mr. Ollivander stepped out of the shadows, the orbs being his creepy eyes."Now, your wand arm?" he asked. I held out my right hand and a tape measure started to measure every inch of my body. Then he started handing me random wands.

"Beechwood and phoenix feather, 10 inches, flexible. Give it a wave." I twirled it around, feeling quite stupid, but nothing happened. "Maple and dragon heartstring, 11 inches, nice and supple." Still nothing. He snatched it out of my hand. The pile rose higher and higher, but still nothing happened. Finally, "Ebony and unicorn tail hair, 8 and a half inches, springy." The wand was black with a silver tip; short but flexible. As I held it, I knew this was the one. I felt a tingling sensation go up my entire arm and as I swung it over my head and down to my waist, blue sparks flew out of the tip.

"Yes, this is the one," he said softly. I paid 7 Galleons, and Mr. Ollivander bowed me out of the shop.

I blinked in the light outside and showed my wand to Penny. Then, as she went inside, I sat down on a bench, and being the nerd that I am, started reading up on spells and learning all the course books by heart. When she came out, Draco Malfoy was passing by and I thought: _Yes! The perfect opportunity to try out the color spell I just learned! _I turned his hair from blond to green to black with purple polka-dots, and I probably would kept going all day, but Penny punched me rather hard, so I turned it back to blond. It was funny though, and he didn't even notice.

"What'd you do that for!" she screamed.

"What?" I asked innocently. It was best to play "dumb" in these situations (or at least try to, it is very hard for me to pretend to be dumb), especially when Penny was about to blow up.

"Change his hair color! That is so... so... SLYTHERINY!"

"He's a git, Penny!" I said. It was true. She didn't talk to me after that.

**Penny**

Mr. Ollivander was kind of creepy, but the wands were SO cool. The first wand I tried was willow and unicorn tail, and nothing happened, just like the 10 others I tried out. I knew that the oak and phoenix feather, 10 ¼ inches, "Nice and supple", was mine as soon as I grabbed it. I'm not kidding, I wanted it so badly, out of Mr. Ollivander's hand. It felt like it was (this is kinda hard to explain) MADE for me. We ran into Draco outside, and Lilac acted like a true Slytherin, not a Ravenclaw, and changed his hair color to green, then black with purple polka-dots. I think she would have kept on going if I hadn't elbowed her as I was leaving the shop. The idiot, arrogant, boy didn't even notice, although some random passerby stared at him as they walked by. And then Lilac called him a git! It's one thing if I call him an idiot, it's another if Lilac insults him. I was mad.

Back at home, I locked myself in my room and began to read my course books. I knew I would love Potions, but I wasn't so sure about History of Magic. From what my bros said, no one could stay awake the whole class. I was willing to bet Lilac would prove those people wrong.  
I drifted off into Penny-land. The more I thought about it, the more I saw likable things about Mr. Draco Malfoy. He was rich, had a sense of humor, would most likely be in the same house as me, and most of all, he was SOOO cute!

**Lilac  
**  
Gosh, what did Penny see in that moron? She's the Slytherin, but she _elbowed _me when I turned his hair green! Seriously, Malfoy is a idiotic brat.  
After we Floo Powder-ed home, I plopped down on the couch and read all of my new books in 30 minutes. I had heard that Professor Snape, who taught Potions, was super evil, but I was sure I would like the subject, if not the teacher. Charms looked fun, and I was really looking forward to Transfiguration.  
I walked to Penny's house, _Accio_ed her book (the only way to get something away from her if she's holding on to it), stood in front of her, and recited every single course book by heart. Even the History of Magic one. She just sighed, said, "Typical", grabbed the book and went back to reading. I laughed and walked back home.

At my house, I studied up on spells and I tried out doing a bunch of stuff. I made stuff zoom around my room (_Wingardium Leviosa)_, made the lilacs on the window sing, made my bed with magic (YESSSSS!) and some other cool stuff. I knew I wouldn't be able to do this once school started because they would be tracking me and I would get in trouble if I did magic. I knew that I probably could do magic inside the house, though, because my mom was a witch and it didn't track the individuals, just the house. So in the summer I could make my bed with magic EVERY DAY! (YESSSSS)

I was sooo excited to go to Hogwarts! Only 2 more weeks until we would be on the train!

**Penny  
**  
The NERVE of that girl! First she's mean to the first boy I've met who I actually LIKE; she changes his hair color and calls him a git! Then she comes over and recites the course books BY HEART when I've barely read them. I was going to get payback by the way of holding a grudge. It was really simple for me; I'd held one on my brothers for a whole month straight. If I couldn't talk to them for a month, and we lived in the same house, I could ignore Lilac, easily. Even though my parents were okay with her (they wouldn't be if she wasn't a pure-blood), she didn't like them much, so she usually only came over when they were away.  
Lilac came over, just as I predicted, exactly one hour after my parents had left for work. My brothers and I were in the back playing Quidditch. I was a chaser, Leo was also a chaser, and Raphael was the keeper. It was really nice because Raphael was also a chaser, he just wasn't as good, but we could work on different plays, or just shoot. We heard her knock, and I'm pretty sure she saw us flying, but she didn't come in the back. She had told me a long time ago that she hated Quidditch, and I also knew she would check to see if I was still flying exactly an hour later.

My bros and I went back inside, and when Lilac came, we were all in the kitchen, listening to music, so she would think we couldn't hear her. The kitchen was in the back of the house, so she could see us, but we pretended not to see her. I knew it was kinda mean, but it was revenge. So my brothers and I kept on doing this, when she wasn't coming, doing our own thing, and when she did, pretending we were having a day hanging out as siblings. IN YOUR FACE LILAC!

**Lilac  
**  
So of course, being an evil git, Penny just hadto start ignoring me like a true Slytherin. Penny's grudges could last a long time, and I speak from experience. Typical Penny. All because I turned her "boyfriend" Malfoy's hair green. What did she see in him?

I jogged to her house the next day, an hour after her parents left (I don't like them much). She and her brothers were playing Quidditch, just as an excuse to ignore me. See, there are some things I don't even tell my best friend, and one of them is that I actually want to play Quidditch for my house. I'd had a lot of practice, and Penny said I sucked, but I knew that was just to be Penny, because her brothers said I was really good.

She does this grudge thing a lot. Usually I just have to let her get all her steam out, and then we'll be friends again. But this one was waylonger than her other ones, and I think it was just because of what I did to "Dear Draco". I think someone was in love... She would probably hit me if I said that in front of her. Not that I could talk to her...

The next day when I came, Penny was pretending to be having some "family time" with her brothers, which would never happen if she wasn't trying to ignore me. They were just lounging in the kitchen, listening to their charmed iPods, pretending not to see me. Every day I came, and every day Penny felt sweet revenge... I guess, if ignoring your BFF is what she calls revenge.

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	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I would be stinkin' rich.

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**Chapter Three: Hogwarts**

**Penny  
**  
It was time to make up with Lilac. Why, you ask? BECAUSE WE WERE GOING ON THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS TOMORROW! I went over to her house, but Mom said to make it "snappy", as she put it because we were having dinner guests over. So I went over, apologized, then basically sprinted back to my house where my mom was waiting. I knew it was one of dad's friends from work because she had me wear my emerald green dress. She also curled my hair and helped me put on my makeup. There was a knock on the door, and I looked out my window to see Draco Malfoy and his family. _This is going to get interesting, _I thought as I put on my finishing touches, pins with emeralds on them that looked magnificent with my hair. Then came the hard part: my mom called me down to greet our guests.

My brothers went first, but lucky me, I HAD to go last. All eyes were on me as I GLIDED, not ran as I normally would, down the stairs. We exchanged polite greetings, as I had met the Malfoys in Diagon Alley, and while the parents chatted, my brothers, Draco and I went into the sitting room opposite where our parents were.  
"I wish my parents didn't insist on being so formal, we could've played Quidditch!" I said, and Draco looked at me in surprise.

"You play Quidditch?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"Of course she plays Quidditch, Malfoy, she's a ruddy good chaser," Leo retorted.

"Wow. YOU always say I'm alright, not 'ruddy good'," I countered.

"Well, you are sis, and you'll make your house team, that's for sure."

"Aww, Thanks Leo. I thinks that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me in the almost 12 years I've been your sister."

Draco had been watching us the entire time, his eyes going back and forth like he was watching a muggle game of tennis. Don't ask how I know what tennis is, its a looong story. "What position do you play, Draco?" I politely asked, being the great hostess I had been training to be since I was eight.

"Seeker."

"Nice. None of those in our family. If we played, all we'd be missing are two beaters." He smiled at me. That was one of the only times anyone (except me) would see Draco Malfoy smile (in a good way). He looked better that way.

We compared, or to be more accurate, debated about, the latest brooms and the Quidditch teams,, until we were called into the dining room for dinner. I regained my 'Slytherin charm', and had a nice time. I think Draco's parents, Lucius and Narcissa, approved of my budding friendship with their son, along with my own parents. It had been a fun evening.

**Lilac**

OMG, TOMORROW WE WE'RE LEAVING FOR HOGWARTS! I was about to go over to Penny's and try to make up with her, but just then I heard the lock turn on the door. "Who is it, Lilac?" my mom called.

"Oh, it's just Penny picking the lock with a paper clip," I yelled back to the kitchen.

Penny bolted in, breathed, "Sorry - for - ignoring you-" and ran right back out the door. What was that all about? I decided to spy on her to see what was making her so rushed. She does it to me all the time, so now we were even. I cast a charm I invented called _magnumsempra _on their house so that I could hear what they were saying, but no one else around me with the help of these iPod ear buds I had charmed with the same spell.

I heard the _whoosh_ of Penny's dress. The only dress that _whooshed_ was her emerald green one, which meant that they were having a very fancy dinner. There was a knock on the door, and her brothers chorused, "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. Hi Draco." Ah, so the Malfoyswere over. And dear Draco Malfoy, the love of Penny's life. :)

They talked about Quidditch for a while and how they wouldn't have any beaters if they all played together (because Penny had no idea that I was a super awesome beater), but Penny's bros are in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw anyway. Leo's a chaser, and Raphael's the keeper on their House Teams. Finally, they had dinner, and I think Lucius and Narcissa actually approvedof Penny and Draco's friendship, and so did Penny's mom! AHHH! AM I BEING REPLACED WITH A MORON?

Anyway, I guess I accepted Penny's apology. It wasn't her fault the Malfoy kid was an idiot.

I was shaken awake roughly at 4 a.m. by Penny, who I had long since given a key but she still preferred to pick the lock the muggle way, even though now she had _Alohoroma_. "C'mon, we have to go in 6 ½ hours!"

"6 ½ hours!" I yelled. "Then why on earth are you waking me up right now?"

She shrugged. "Nerves?" I sighed and yawned at the same time. My trunk was already packed very neatly, clothes in ⅓ of it, supplies in another ⅓, and books in another ⅓ of it. I added a mini pocket-like thing on the top for personal items. Penny's, I supposed, had everything thrown in arbitrarily.

"I'm going back to bed," I yawned.

"NO!" she squeaked, pulling me out of my covers by the arm. We had a short cat-fight in which she won.

"Fine *yawn*", I said.

I pulled my dark brown, never-tangled, super straight, knee-length hair out of its large bun, brushed it, and pushed it all over my left shoulder. Then I grabbed my trunk and my owl and walked downstairs with Penny.

**Penny**

Lilac and I could just catch up that morning, since we weren't leaving by side-along Apparition until 10:30. So we ate breakfast and talked. She knew that we had had the Malfoys over for dinner, but she didn't explain how she knew. My brothers came into the house at 10, having woken up late and already eaten breakfast.

"Okay, everyone ready?" her dad said, walking down the stairs.

"Yup!' me and Lilac said at the same time. We looked at each other and giggled.

Lilac's older sister, Violet, was there, too, to speed along the Apparition. Violet was basically an older version of Lilac;; she had long brown hair a little shorter than Lilac's (down to her waist), purple-blue eyes, and skin the color of caramel. "I'll apparate with Lilac," she said. Lilac shrunk her stuff, put in in her pocket, and held on to her sister's arm. _CRACK! _And they were gone. I apparated with Violet once she came back, and my brothers Apparated with Mr. Starre.

Once at King's Cross with a half an hour to spare, Lilac and I boarded the train and found a compartment together. We stepped back onto the platform where I was greeted by none other than Draco Malfoy. Lilac rolled her light purple eyes and quickly walked away. He invited me to sit with him, but I declined by saying, "I'd love to, but you see, Lilac doesn't really know anyone yet, besides me, and you a little bit, and we're definitely going to be in different houses, while you and I are probably both headed to the same one. So I'd love to, but I can't just ditch her. You get that, right?" He nodded, and I said goodbye one last time to my parents and boarded the Hogwarts Express.

**Lilac  
**  
That git Malfoy! First he shows up in Diagon Alley, then he goes over to Penny's for dinner (I guess their parents are friends), and then he invites her to SIT with him on the train! AS IF! She would never ditch me. I stormed away from them into the very back compartment and pulled out a book. She would appear any second now, saying that she agrees with me and Malfoy is a moron. But she didn't. Finally, I walked back to Draco's, but she wasn't there, she had appeared in my compartment again. "Thank goodness, I thought you were going to sit with that prat Malfoy," I said.

"I WAS, but I thought there was more of a chance that I'd be in the same house as him so I decided to sit with you."

"Wow. So very un-Slytherin of you."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious."

"Your welcome, Lieutenant Sarcasm. Hey, did you know there are two other people in here?" she asked.

"Thank you again, Captain Obvious," she said. I sighed. "This is Ron Weasley," she said pointing to the redhead, a tall boy with a lot of freckles, "And this is... the one and only, the man you've all been waiting for... HARRY POTTER! Guys, this is my friend Lilac Starre."

Harry, the one with dark hair and a lightning scar, looked rather embarrassed and muttered, "Hi."

Ron looked delighted at being introduced, but then his smile faded when Penny muttered, "Filthy little blood traitor."

"What makes you say that!" he protested.

"I'm a soon-to-be Slytherin. Explanation enough?" She growled.

"Penny, just because you're a Slytherin doesn't mean you have to be evil," I countered.

"But I was born evil!" She whined.

"I'm a blood traitor too," I reminded her, giggling.

"So what?" she snapped. Ron made to stand up, and opened his mouth, but apparently thought better of it and plopped back down in his seat.

I went to the bathroom, and when I came back Penny had left. Great. She was probably with Malfoy. As soon as I sat down in the back compartment, Ron blurted out, "Are you really a blood traitor?"

"Well, that's what everyone calls it," I replied wisely. "But if you really think about it, it's just a word that pure-blood wizards use. It just means that you don't look down on those who are half-bloods or Muggle-borns. Personally, I couldn't care less."

"Me neither," Ron said. He appeared to think for a minute, then said, "How are wizards born into Muggle families?"

"Okay, say this invisible person over here," I pointed to the right, "Bob, is Muggle-born. Now, Bob's parents are Muggles. His grandparents are Muggles. His great-grandparents are Muggles. Mostly everyone in his family is a Muggle. But the weird thing is, genes skip lots of generations sometimes. Bob's great-great-great-great-great-Grandfather was a wizard. This gene skipped all the rest of the generations, and finally went to Bob."

"Wow. How do you know all this?" Ron asked incredulously.

"I'm a Ravenclaw!" I said, then added, "I hope."

"I hope I'm in Gryffindor," Ron said. "All my brothers have been."

I looked at Harry. He hadn't talked this whole time. My eyes were wide. I tried not to stare at his scar. He was probably very self-conscious by now. I knew it was probably his first time among us wizarding folks and that everyone must have been staring at him all day. But I couldn't resist. "You're really Harry Potter?" I tried to ask it nonchalantly, but I couldn't hide that hint of amazement in my voice. This was the guy who had _defeated_VOLDEMORT! He was insane! He was famous! He was a legend!

Poor Harry. He looked at the ground. "Um, yeah." I instantly felt bad. What was I supposed to say now? Harry was still staring at his shoes. Shoot. I looked at Ron helplessly.

"Um..." he started. He looked up in desperation. "Hey Harry, want to try some every flavor beans?"

Harry perked up. "What are those?" I smiled.

**Penny**

Once Lilac had left, I got up, said "see you" to the boys, and dragged my trunk to Draco's compartment. "Lilac went to the potty, so I came here instead of sitting with a Weasel and another Potty."

"By Potty and Weasel, I assume you mean Harry Potter and Ron Weasley?" Draco asked.

"Well THANK YOU, Captain Obvious."

"You're welcome. Oh, and by the way, this is Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson."

"Hi..." I said.

"I assume you're a pure-blood," the girl said.

"Well durrr. What do I look like, a mudblood? And even if I was, how would I know Draco?"

"Pansy, be quiet. She's pure-blood, and even better, she's going to be a Slytherin. It's really obvious once you get to know her," insisted Draco.

"Sorry. I'm Pansy Parkinson," the girl, Pansy, said.

"Its okay. I'm Penny Storm. The master of Captain Obvious."

"She's not kidding guys. She says that about 50 times a day," Draco said. And so we talked for hours, and I didn't even realize I'd forgotten about Lilac.

Too bad.

**Lilac**

Just then a girl with rather large front teeth and very puffy brown hair popped her head in.

"Has anyone seen a toad?" she asked. "Neville's lost one."

I said, "I'll help look," and with that, I got up and left.

I spotted Penny through a window, talking and laughing with Malfoy and a bunch of other Slytherins. I thought she said she wanted to hang out with me on the train! I think I was being replaced. With a git!

Anyway, Hermione (the one who was looking for the toad) and I talked, and I found out we had a lot in common. We had both memorized all of our course books, and we were probably the only two people in the grade (besides Penny, and I had forced her to do it) who had read Hogwarts: A History. We were also most likely the two smartest people in the year, destined to be in Ravenclaw. We chatted about all the spells we had learned and taught each other some new ones. I told her all about _magnumsempra_ and my moments of Slytherin-iness. I had never told anyone about _magnumsempra, _not even Penny, but Hermione felt like the type of person I could trust. It was nice to finally have someone I could confide in about my nerdiness without her making fun of me.  
She asked me all about the Wizarding world.

We met Neville. He was nice enough, but a total klutz.

After trying (and failing) to find Neville's toad, Trevor, we bought some stuff from the snack cart and found out that we would be at Hogwarts in about 10 minutes. I poked my head into Penny and Draco's compartment to tell her. I saw her deeply immersed in conversation with Draco and 3 other to-be Slytherins. She didn't notice me, but Draco did.

"Who is that?" he sneered, catching a glimpse of my overly long hair.

I quickly pulled back, and heard Penny through the door supposedly look out the window and say, "Oh, look, we're going to be there soon!" I think she knew it was me, but she didn't let anything on.

I joined Hermione back in her compartment and we soon slowed to a stop. One of the prefects poked her head into our compartment and said, "Come on, your trunks will be taken separately." I pointed my wand at my trunk and owl, said, "_Engorgio", _and ran out the door and into Hogsmeade station.

It was dark outside, but I heard a voice calling, "Firs' years over here! Firs' years!" About 40 kids crowded around a huge man (Hagrid, I'm guessing) holding a lantern. He led us to the boats and yelled, "No more'n' four to a boat!" I saw Penny push Neville out of the way as she clambered into a boat with "Dear Draco" and 2 more Slytherins. I climbed in with Hermione, Neville who had lost his toad and my cousin Lavender Brown.

"Did you do your nails?" she squeaked. I ignored her. We glided across the glassy black lake and under a bridge.

"You'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts here in a minute," Hagrid called. There was a loud chorus of _Ooohs _and _Aaahh_s. There it was. Hogwarts! My home away from home. The boats lurched to a stop and we climbed out. I waved at Penny, but she didn't wave back. She always waved back! What was going on? Hagrid checked the boats and found Neville's toad. Neville held on to Trevor tightly.

A stern-looking lady took us from there. We waited on the side of a big stage-like platform. I saw Penny looking like she was going to get one of her hyper attacks and attempting to control herself. Draco was laughing at her red face, a very evil, mirthless laugh. That was all it took to stop her. She gave him the legendary Storm death glare, and he backed away a couple of steps. I almost laughed out loud; that had happened to me about a thousand times, and I knew how it felt.

Suddenly, I felt like I had been stuck in a bucket of ice-cold water. Hermione and a few others were looking exactly how I felt. I looked in front of me and saw one of the ghosts my sis had told me about. They glided through the opposite wall, where I could hear voices chattering. Ron was looking green and saying something about his brother Fred and a troll, Harry's knees were shaking like mad and he was looking rather queasy, Hermione was whispering about all the spells she'd learned and which one she would need to use, and Penny was staring off into space, looking a bit worried. I guess all older siblings tried to fool their younger ones. Draco seemed to be the only one who was smiling his cruel, creepy little smile.

The lady introduced herself as Professor McGonagall. She walked us through the entrance hall (which was as big as my house from the outside) and into the Great Hall. The ceiling looked like the stars above, and the second through seventh years were sitting on their house tables. Professor McGonagall brought out an extremely old, frayed, patched up hat. THE SORTING HAT! Dramatic music played in my mind and I completely blanked out until I heard the hat singing the last notes of the song.

_So try me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap,_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a thinking cap!_

So we just had to try on the hat! I was going to kill my sister, she was going on about a test with a boggart and some other crazy stuff, and I had been worried all summer. The school burst into applause as Professor McGonagall called up the first person to be sorted. Abott, Hannah because became a Hufflepuff and my cousin Lavender was a Gryffindor. IMPOSSIBLE! Where did that come from? She was the biggest scaredy-cat I had ever seen! Whatever. Maybe she was different on the inside. We will never know.

Granger, Hermione, to my surprise, was a Gryffindor. NOOOOOO! Malfoy, Draco, was obviously a Slytherin.

At Potter, Harry, excited murmurs came from all around the room. Gryffindor. Figures.

Finally, it was my turn. I strolled up to the stool and shoved the hat onto my head. I couldn't see anything and it went over my whole head, so I imagined I looked like a person with a hat for a head and about 4 feet of hair. In short, an idiot.

_Ah, yes, Lilac Starre, _the Sorting Hat spoke in my head. _Hmm, let's see... smart, very smart, a good deal of bravery in there..._

_Braver than Lavender, _I thought.

_Oh, she's braver than you think. Ooh, and sometimes you do brave but stupid things... Hard decision..._

_Gryffindor? _I thought hopefully.

_Hmm... you'd better be a _RAVENCLAW! said the hat. It yelled "Ravenclaw" out to the whole school as I joined the cheering golden table.

**Penny  
**  
I CALLED IT, I CALLED IT! I knew Lilac was going to be a Ravenclaw, but now Professor McGonagall was calling my name. Raphael was chanting, "GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR!", and Leo called for me to be a Ravenclaw, but I think they both knew that would never happen. I walked up, and unlike Lilac, the hat didn't cover my face, it just covered my eyes.

_Hmmm.. another Storm. Let's see. The intelligence and bravery of both of your brothers, but there is something darker, more sinister about you._

_Yes, I do come across as cold, maybe even evil a lot, _I thought.

_Yes, exactly. That's why you are a _SLYTHERIN! It shouted the last word to the whole school while Raphael, being the best friend of the prankster Weasley twins, demanded a recount. I glared at him, and he looked red and shut up. I sat next to Draco, who wasn't looking too pleased having the Bloody Baron, the Slytherin ghost, on his other side. Pansy was across from me, and I knew the hat was right. This was going to be the greatest seven years of my life!

The common room was in the dungeons, underneath the lake, so an awesome green glow covered the whole place.. The first password was pure-blood, as we were told by a prefect. My bed was near an above-ground window, looking right over the lake. Pansy crawled into the bed next to me as I got into my green PJ's that used to be red, (I charmed them to match the Slytherin colors) and fell asleep.

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REVIEW PLEASE :DDDDD Whoever reviews will get virtual Oreos. If you don't like Oreos, than the best I can do is virtual fruit.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: As usual, I own nothing.

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**Chapter Four: Classes**

**Lilac  
**  
I waved to Penny at the table on the far left, but she didn't even see me, or if she did, refused to acknowledge my presence. I sat next to a pretty girl with hair to rival mine, and saw the Headmaster, Dumbledore get up on the stage. He said a few very random words, and then the food appeared. I ate until my food section was full, then filled up my dessert part too. After dinner, Dumbledore warned us not to go into the forest, use magic between classes or go into the door in the third-floor corridor unless we wished to die a very painful death. Then we sang the school song.

_Hogwarts, Hogwarts,_

_Hoggy Warty Hogwarts_

_Teach us something, please,_

_Whether we be old and bald_

_Or young with scabby knees,_

_Our heads could do with filling_

_With some interesting stuff,_

_For now they're bare and full of air,_

_Dead flies and bits of fluff,_

_So teach us things worth knowing,_

_Bring back what we've forgot,_

_Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_

_And learn until our brains all rot._

(Ron Weasley's older twin brothers finished last to a very dramatic funeral march, with Dumbledore conducting them). "Ah, music!" he said. "A magic beyond all we do here! Now, off to bed!" We followed the Ravenclaw prefects to our common room.

70 Ravenclaws walked all the way to the left side of the castle and up a spiral staircase that made me rather dizzy. Then the prefect used a brass eagle knocker on a wooden door and it opened it's mouth, but instead of singing, it spoke in a musical voice, "I am the beginning of the end, and the end of time and space. I am essential to creation, and I surround every place. What am I?"

"See, the other houses just have passwords, but ours is only for intellectual people," the prefect, Penelope Clearwater, explained with an air of royalty, which I found really funny. "So you have to answer the riddle. The answer is the letter 'e'."

"Good job," sang the bird, and the door swung open. We were in a wide, circular, airy room, full of squashy armchairs, tables, and... bookcases! They covered almost all the walls except for the doors leading up to the dormitories. The ceiling was domed, painted with stars, and the carpet was midnight-blue. There was also a fireplace, and right in the middle of the room stood a white marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw. On her tiara, a replica of the real missing one, it said, "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure." _Very true, _I thought. I was going to love this place.

We went up to our dorms as directed. I was in one with Cho Chang, the girl I had sat next to at dinner with the long hair, Marietta Edgecombe, a curly-haired girl who was friends with Cho, Padma Patil, a pretty Indian girl, and Lisa Turpin. My trunk was already under my bed and Sapphire had probably flown off to the Owlery, so I got into my blue PJ's and clambered into my bed. I stared at the ceiling for a while, thinking about Penny and Draco Malfoy, and Hermione and Harry Potter. Thinking about what this year was going to hold. I figured it would be okay; a typical first year at Hogwarts, not much drama. Boy, was I wrong.

**Penny  
**  
The next morning, I woke up and joined Pansy and Draco in the common room, which was under the lake, thus the greenish lighting, and we went down, or up, I guess you would say, to breakfast. The Great Hall was filled with students, and I could immediately tell who was friend, and who was a foe. So I stared my death-glare at the Gryffindors, and I think I succeeded in scaring a few. IN YOUR FACE STUPID GRYFFINDORS! (Well except for Raphael, he's not stupid. But the rest of them are.)

So with that, I headed into the dining hall, flanked by my Slytherin friends, and as we were eating, Professor Snape, Head of Slytherin House and potions master, walked up and gave us our schedules. He looked kind of gitty, but I knew he favored our house, so I HAD to stay on his good side. My schedule for Monday through Wednesday went like this:

1. History of Magic; Professor Binns  
2. Transfiguration; Professor McGonagall  
3. Defense Against the Dark Arts; Professor Quirrell  
Lunch  
4. Charms; Professor Flitwick  
5. Herbology; Professor Sprout  
6. Potions; Professor Snape

My schedule for Thursday:  
1. Double Defense Against the Dark Arts (with Gryffindors)  
2. Double Transfiguration (with Hufflepuffs)  
Lunch  
3. Double History of Magic, ugh (with Ravenclaws)

And my Friday schedule:  
1. Double Herbology (with Ravenclaws)  
2. Double Potions (with Gryffindors)  
Lunch  
3. Double Charms (with Hufflepuffs)

And that was it, but I also had Astronomy on Monday at midnight. I figured I just wouldn't sleep that night and do homework. We finished breakfast and headed over the the History of Magic classroom.

I don't know how people stay awake in that class. Its sooo long and boring and goes on, and on, and on, and on, just boring talkety-talk-talk. HOW AM I GOING TO SURVIVE? I hoped Transfiguration would at least be more interesting.

I. Love. Transfiguration. It's so hard, yet fun! I was the ONLY one who changed my match into a needle. Draco got close, his was metal in some parts and had a pointy end, but it looked like a cross between the two. It was actually pretty funny. I cracked up and earned a glare from Professor McGonagall. So with that, we headed off to Defense Against the Dark Arts, with an extra five house points because I was good at Transfiguration.

Quirrell's class was sooo bad. He stuttered on, and on, and on, and I knew everything he said because my parents were (obviously) former Death Eaters. Draco's and Pansy's were too, so we just stared off into space the entire time. So by lunch, I had only liked one class. I knew History of Magic was always going to be boring, but it gave me high hopes for my last three classes. If they stunk too, I might as well have gone to Beaxbatons.

**Lilac  
**  
OMG I LOVE THIS PLACE! Penny was getting more and more distant, I can't describe how I felt about it, but she seemed to be having a lot of fun, and I was too. Hermione and I were totalstudy buddies, and so we always hung out in the library together and had races to see who could read our History of Magic books the fastest. I beat her by 7 milliseconds, but hey- at least I beat her.

My schedule for Monday through Wednesday was:

Potions with Snape (UGH)  
Herbology (AWESOMENESS)  
Charms (SUPER EPIC)

Lunch (YAY!)

Defense Against the Dark Arts (A JOKE)  
Transfiguration (MY FAVE)  
History of Magic (I WIN!)

Thursday:  
Double Potions (with Hufflepuffs)  
Double Charms (with Gryffindors)  
Lunch (YAY!)  
Double History of Magic (with Slytherins)

Friday:  
Double Herbology (with Slytherins)  
Double Defense Against the Dark Arts (with Hufflepuffs)  
Lunch (YAY!)  
Double Transfiguration (with Gryffindors)

The Ravenclaws also had Astronomy on Tuesday on top of the tallest tower. I'm not the type to stay up all night and then go, I need to get my sleep, so I would probably just tell someone to wake me up at half past 11.

Usually our house sides with the Hufflepuffs, but I'm starting to lean towards the Gryffindors. It's kind of the Slytherins against everybody else.

Getting to classes was hard enough, without bumping into people or being surrounded by them. But being friends with Cho Chang, who was SUPER popular, I suddenly became popular too, accosted everywhere I went by wanna-bes and hateful Slytherins. Especially Penny, who had been boosted to the title of "Slytherin Princess." I don't think any of us really hated her, but most people tried to get on her good side, because if you didn't she would break your nose, then when it healed, break it again, and so on. Sometimes people who were common victims asked me to cast a bubble-head charm on them so Penny couldn't touch them. Scary, huh? Well, at least they knew they could come to me for charms when needed (moment of extreme nerdiness)!

And then there was Peeves. The castle was already so hard to navigate with it's trick staircases, doors that lead somewhere different on Friday, solid walls pretending to be doors, vanishing steps, moving steps, moving pictures and suits of armor, etc. and all the ghosts. The Bloody Baron didn't talk to anyone, and the Grey Lady (the Ravenclaw Ghost, Rowena's daugher, Helena, in life) kept silent, but the Fat Friar, the Hufflepuff Ghost, and Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor Ghost, could point you out to places. But Peeves... he would cause chandeliers to fall on your head, blow loud raspberries at you, shuffle rugs up so you tripped, or sneak up behind you, invisible, then grab your nose and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"

Gosh, I hated Peeves. I was glad the teachers liked me, because he would listen to them but they thought bad students deserved to be tortured by Peeves. If I came into class late with my hair in a wreck and bits of glass stuck to me and said Peeves had done it, I would get 5 house points for enduring such and be given a little time to go back to the common room and clean up. Except with Snape. But that was a different story. If it was someone who the teachers didn't like, he/she would lose 5 points for their house and be told strictly to sit down and now they were behind on their work. See the benefits of being smart?

On Monday, we had Potions first thing. At least we didn't get it with the Slytherins. My sister was in Gryffindor and she said that they did, and it was torture. Severus Snape is the head of Slytherin House, so he totally favors the Slytherins; like if we were in a class and a Slytherin did a potion right but Hermione did it better, he would overlook Hermione and give 10 points to Slytherin. Or if a boy who constantly sucked at Potions because he was scared of Snape (a.k.a. Neville) was put to the test of feeding the potion to his toad (this is a true story), which, him sucking at Potions, would probably kill his toad, and Hermione whispered him directions, and he did it right, Snape would take 10 points off of Gryffindor for "cheating." He's really unfair to the Gryffindors, but luckily, we have Potions either alone or with the Hufflepuffs. I mean, he's mean to everyone but his house, but since there's no one to favor in our class I guess it was okay.

We had to make a really simple potion to get rid of boils and I followed what Snape had charmed onto the board. The potion was supposed to be green, but mine was blue and refused to change. I glanced at the board and saw that you had to turn off the fire before adding the porcupine quills, so I did. Not many people saw those, a lot of people were chopping their quills and adding them with the fire on full heat. Cho's potion turned orange and I quickly whispered to her how to fix it. I turned off my fire and added the porcupine quills, and my potion turned blue! I filled a flask with some of the potion and labeled it with my name, then set them side by side on the table. I was the first one finished. He swept unto it like an overgrown bat, and said softly, "Very good, Miss Starre. 5 points to Ravenclaw." Everyone cheered, I don't know why.

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Whew. That chapter was just full of stuff.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

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**Chapter Five: Classes part 2**

**Penny**

Life was good for, as people were calling me now, the Slytherin Princess. It actually wasn't official yet because we would have a party in the common room on Friday where they would crown the Prince and Princess, but everyone though I was going to be her, and Draco the Prince.

Charms was fun, but Flitwick is sooo tiny, it was laughable, and Draco and I did laugh. It was a practical class, using wands and such, and I loved that. We learned how to make things tap dance, I got to use a pear. It was HILARIOUS!

Herbology was fine, another practical class. I wasn't that INTO plants and stuff, but it was actually kind of fun. We basically just took notes and looked at plants. Draco pointed out that I was like the Devil's Snare, and I punched him. Not super hard though, just enough to get him to shut up. He gave me one of his "killer" glares, but I think mine were more intimidating. IN YOUR FACE DRACO!

And then there was Potions. We made a solution to cure boils, it wasn't really that tough, but I had my brother's notes that they wrote in their books scribbled in mine. All it took was a simple spell Raphael did for me in the Great Hall this morning, and poof. I had their notes, with mine, and I got it perfect. It must've been really good, because Professor Snape said it was the best he'd seen. I had beaten Lilac, and earned a total of 20 points for Slytherin. We were in the lead! I had gotten a total of 50 points in one day. 10 in Charms, Transfiguration, and Herbology. And that was only the first day!

And so, the week passed. It was Friday. I had sent a letter to my mom asking her to send my three nicest dresses, and three large barn owls arrived, carrying them. Pansy helped me decide to wear the light green one with silver accents, a silver charm bracelet I had gotten from my brothers, that now had about 10 charms dangling from it, the newest being a snake, my green bead earrings, and my emerald pins in my hair, which was in a high bun with my curled side bangs hanging down. The people who were in the running for the 'royalty' positions for first years were Pansy, Draco, Blaise Zabini, and I. We were to walk down last, after the second years. After everyone had voted for the second year Prince and Princess, I walked down arm-in-arm with Draco, while Blaise and Pansy did the same. The results were announced then.

"The first year Slytherin Prince is... Draco Malfoy!" someone yelled, I think it was a seventh year, but I wasn't sure. "And his princess is... Penny Storm!" I was giddy with excitement and happiness as someone placed the first-year tiara on my head. These were sooo going to be the best years in my life!

**Lilac**

We had Herbology with the Slytherins, and they all looked rather unpleasant, or maybe it was just my low opinion of them. Penny had a crown on her head, I don't know why, and Draco acted like royalty all the time (typical). We got in pairs and I pushed Draco out of the way and went to work on the same Devil's Snare as Penny. As I watched the dark green plant creep towards me,, I asked Penny, "What is going on? And why are you wearing a crown? _Incendio!_" I cast a jet of fire at the Devil's Snare, causing it to shrink back.  
"I've been made first year Slytherin Princess," she said with a smug air of I'm-better-than-you.

"Oh, and 'Dear Draco' is your prince, I'm guessing," I said. I needed to insult her somehow, but that didn't seem to do the trick.

"That's right!" she said. "Dear Draco!" She laughed, a lot more evilly than usual. I shivered. I didn't like this new Penny. I shoved Malfoy back into place next to her. No wonder he was the first year Slytherin prince. They went perfectly together; two stupid gits. I walked over to Padma, who was working alone, and shared her Devil's Snare. I guess my friendship with Penny was over.

Charms was really fun. We were trying to make fruit tap dance. I used a banana, and it tapped across the desk. I was one of the only ones to succeed.

"Very good, Miss Starre!" Professor Flitwick squeaked. "10 points to Ravenclaw!" I guess he favored us, he was our house leader. Later in the class, I moved on to coconuts, pillows, rocks, and people. I made Padma tap dance across the room, she was giggling the whole while. That earned me another 15 points to Ravenclaw.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was stupid. It smelled like garlic, to "ward off Vampires", and Quirrell was all stuttery. By far the stupidest class. But I did know the answer to every single question he asked, so I got 20 points. I guess Professor Quirrell was nice enough, if not a bit more than a little weird.

Next we had Transfiguration. I knew this would be fun. The very first lesson we got a lecture on behavior, and then we had to try to turn a match into a needle. I did it on my first try and Professor McGonagall gave me a rare smile and had me try to turn a stick into a quill. The result was a very feathery stick, but I did get 15 points for Ravenclaw.

I WIN IN HISTORY OF MAGIC! I had a bet with Penny for 15 Galleons that I would be the only one (besides Hermione on double days) who wouldn't fall asleep in History of Magic and I won! By the end, Professor Binns was about to float back through the chalkboard and nobody noticed because they were all snoring, while I had a stack of notes in front of me. I yelled, "WAKE UP!" really loudly, and everyone looked around, confused. Professor Binns gave me 10 points for staying awake. I think I was the only person ever (except for Hermione) in History of Magic to stay awake the whole time. I don't know, but at least I'll do well in the exam!

75 POINTS IN ONE DAY! OH YEAH! IN YOUR FACE PENNY!

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Is Lilac too much of a goody-goody? Don't worry, she will... I don't know. Maybe if you REVIEW (magic word there) with ideas I will put them in!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own it! Now read!

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**Chapter 6: Flying Lessons**

**Penny**

Flying lessons were starting on Thursday afternoon. We were only going to have a couple, but they were with Gryffindor. Yes! Now I would get to show off in front of Potty, the Weasel, and the Mudblood. Draco was eager to show off his flying skills as well. He was forever talking about Quidditch. He had been flying since he was little and he had had many close scrapes with Muggles in helicopters. I agreed with him that it was totally unfair that first years never got on the house teams.

Granger seemed nervous from what I saw. She, being a mudblood, obviously didn't know how to fly, and this was one thing you couldn't learn from books. Ha! Finally something she wouldn't be good at.

All ten of us Slytherin first years gathered on the lawn before the Gryffindors. It was a clear, breezy day, perfect for flying. The school brooms sucked, but that couldn't be helped.

Madam Hooch arrived right on time. "Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up." My broom handle was curved slightly to the left and it was very old. "Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch, "and say 'Up!'" Mine and Malfoy's jumped into our hands. I had done this many times before. Granger's just rolled over, but to my disappointment, Potty's flew into his hand. Longbottom, the stupid, chubby boy who had lost his toad, looked scared of the broom, and his didn't move at all. In his left hand he held a Remembrall; no surprise, as he was extremely stupid and forgetful.

Madam Hooch watched us get on our brooms. She said that I was doing it perfectly, but she told Draco that he had been doing it wrong for years. What did she know? He turned his head in my direction with a look that said all-too-much exactly what I was thinking: _Whatever..._

When Madam Hooch told us to rise a few feet, Neville left early, started rising, and couldn't come back down. Draco and I laughed. He fell with a nasty crack (serves him right, the klutz) and Madam Hooch took him over to the hospital wing with strict orders for us not to move.

As soon as she left, Draco burst out laughing. "Did you see his face, the great lump?" All of us Slytherins started laughing while the Gryffindors shot us dirty looks. It was quite funny.

"Shut up, Malfoy," said Parvati Patil. He howled with laughter.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" laughed Pansy. "Never thought _you'd_ like fat little crybabies, Parvati." Parvati retorted with some comment, and they started a heated argument.

Meanwhile, Draco said, "Look! It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him." He grabbed the Remembrall.

"Here, Draco." I handed him his broom. He took it and gripped the Remembrall.

"Give that here, Malfoy," said Potter. Everyone stopped talking. Draco smiled (cutely).

"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find - how about - up a tree?"

I laughed. "Nice one, Draco!" He smiled (even more cutely).

"Give it here!" Harry yelled. He did have quite a temper. Why was he nice to Neville anyways? He didn't even know anything about Neville's parents. I mean, anyone would take pity on him because of that, but if you didn't know, why be nice to him? Potty grabbed his broom.

"_NO!" _shouted Granger, always one to follow rules. "Madam Hooch told us not to move - you'll get us all into trouble." But Potter ignored her. He must have really hated Draco, and he was angry. He kicked off into the air, and... he was good.Weasel whooped.

He faced Draco in the air. "Give it here," he said. "Or I'll knock you off that broom!"

Draco was a little stunned that Harry could fly so well (everyone knew that he had never been on a broom before) and a little worried that he wouldbe knocked off of his broom. He sneered and looked down at me, Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy. "Come on Draco!" I yelled. "You will not be beaten by a Potty!" The other Slytherins laughed.

"No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy," Potty called. He was right, but Draco wasn't about to tell him that.

"Catch it if you can, then!" Draco rushed towards the ground, and collapsed on top of me, both of us in a heap of giggles. BUt then Potter... He pointed the broom handle down, his hand outstretched... A foot from the ground, he caught the Remembrall! How did he - It was a fifty foot dive and he had never been on a broom before. I was stunned. Weasley laughed at our faces and gave Potter a high-five.

"HARRY POTTER!" Professor McGonagall walked towards Harry. "_Never_ - in all my time at Hogwarts - how _dare_you - might have broken your neck -" The other Gryffindors protested. "Potter, follow me now." Professor McGonagall escorted him out. He was in deep trouble. YES! All of us Slytherins laughed with glee.

**Lilac  
**  
Flying lessons started on Thursday morning. I couldn't wait to get on a broom again, even if it was one of the old, beat up school brooms. Penny wasn't there to see me show my true talent, but that was okay. We gathered on the lawn and waited for Madam Hooch.

She walked over to us, whistle in hand. "Everyone put your right hand over your broom and say, 'Up!'"

"Up!" we chorused. Mine rose into my hand, but a lot of people's stayed put or flew upwards a couple of inches, then fell back down. Madam Hooch showed us how to mount our brooms (she said I did it perfectly).

"On my whistle, kick off hard from the ground, rise a few feet, and then come back down."

I rose up 10 feet into the air, then angled my broom handle downwards. It was a short ride, but it was exhilarating. This was one of the only things I loved that wasn't related to studying: Quidditch. I loved the feel of the wind blowing my hair around, cold air slapping my face.

"Good job, everyone!" Madam Hooch said. "So, who here is interested in Quidditch?" I raised my hand, and saw that Cho's hand was up, as well as a few others. "Very well. Now, which positions do you all play?"

"Beater," I said. Cho was a Seeker.

Madam Hooch started 3 Quidditch games, 2 with 7 players and 1 with 6. I was on a team with Cho, Padma, Terry Boot, Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Hannah Abott. Terry and I were Beaters, Cho was the Seeker, Padma, Ernie, and Hannah were the Chasers, and Justin was the Keeper. We had a lot of fun playing Quidditch, and at the end Madam Hooch complimented me on my beating skills and said that I should try out for my house team.

At dinner, Harry was looking really excited about something, so I put a Disillusionment Charm on myself (I know, that's N.E.W.T. level, but that's me! - advanced) and walked over to the Gryffindor table. I tapped Ron on the shoulder. "It's me!" I whispered.

He jumped several feet into the air. "Bloody hell, Lilac! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Shh..." I said. "I'm not supposed to be here!"

Hermione looked at me dissaprovingly from across the table, but I could tell she was in awe at the same time. because she said, "Lilac, you shouldn't have come. But now that you're here... how did you pull off a disillusionment charm like that?" Hermione wasn't friends with the boys, but she could see that I was talking to them. I was friends with the boys and Hermione, and hopefully I could get Hermione to be nice to Harry and Ron.

I shrugged, even though she couldn't see it. "Practice, I guess." I turned towards the boys. So what's going on, Harry?"

Harry said, "Today in flying lessons Malfoy had Neville's Remembrall, and he dropped it from 50 feet in the air, so I dived and then caught it. Then McGonagall took me to Wood, the Captain of the team, and he made me the Seeker."

I was impressed. "So you're the youngest player in a century!"

"Yup," he replied. "I'm starting training next week, but don't tell anyone, it's a secret."

Fred and George, Ron's older twin brothers, spotted us and ran over. "Well done," said George. "Wood told us that you were seeker. We're the two beaters on the house team." They chatted a bit about how they were going to win this year, and then left to look at a secret passageway.

I walked over to Hermione. "Wow," she said. "They didn't even notice you!" I giggled and gave her some notes on how to cast a perfect disillusionment charm. Just then, Malfoy turned up, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, the stupid gits.

"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting on the train back to the Muggles?" I gathered my nerve, and trusting Hermione's whispers that he couldn't see me, stood behind him. Ron didn't spot me, but Harry did. I put a finger up to my lips.

"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry, looking at me (more like - his eyes were fixed to a spot 5 feet to my left). He nodded ever so slightly, and I understood. I grabbed a treacle tart and smushed it onto Draco's head.

"Hey!" he yelled. "Who's there?" He started swatting the air 5 feet away from me. I almost laughed and gave myself away, but instead I sat back down next to Hermione.

"I'd take you anytime on my own," Malfoy said to Harry. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only - no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"

"Of course he has," Ron sneered. "I'm his second, who's yours?"

"Penny," Malfoy said instantly. I stared at her. She was sitting at the table with Parkinson, that stupid tiara on her head, looking smug. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked." He walked away to sit next to Penny and they started whispering and laughing evilly.

We filled Harry in on what a wizard's duel is. "And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?" he asked shakily.

"Throw it away and punch him on the nose," Ron said. I laughed.

"Excuse me," Hermione said. I sighed. No stopping her from following the rules.

"Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" said Ron nastily.

Hermione, ignoring him, said, "I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying - "

"Bet you could," Ron muttered.

" - and you _mustn't_ go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you."

"And it's really none of your business," said Harry.

"Good-bye," said Ron.

I sighed. "Hermione - "

"Lilac, don't you understand? I don't want them to get caught! I don't want Gryffindor to lose any points, either!"

"But it really is their business - "

"It's your business as much as theirs! You heard who Malfoy's second is!"

I felt like someone had dropped a bag of sand down my throat. "Well - "

"If he's going anyways, you might as well help Harry win! I just can't stand it if that scum Malfoy beats him - "

I nodded, then slowly walked back to the Ravenclaw table and lifted the disillusionment charm.

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Who should win the duel? (Yes it is going to happen) Review or PM!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I own nothing except this epically awesome duel. Which JK Rowling invented the spells for. So technically, I do not own it :(

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**Chapter 7: The Duel**

**Penny  
**  
I was Malfoy's second. Finally, a chance to get Potty and the Weasel in trouble! And maybe, while we were at it, we could give detention to the Mudblood and... Lilac. The Best Friend Ditcher, the Traitor.

"Well, of course we aren't going to go - " he started.

"What are you talking about, Draco! This is our one chance to send Potty home to the Muggles for good!" I interrupted.

"No, Penny. We're just going to tip Filch off that someone is going to be in the trophy room at Midnight. He won't suspect a thing."

"Don't be a wimp, Draco."

"I'm not a wimp!" he whined.

"Yes, you are," I argued. "If you don't think you and Ias a TEAM can beat a Potty and a Weasel, then you are a wimp. You're just scared of facing Granger and Li - Starre because they know more spells than you."

He sighed, admitting defeat (and not noticing that I almost said Lilac...). "Fine. We'll go."

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" I spent the night practicing my best spells and curses and teaching Draco some really cool ones. One of my signature Slytherin spells was _Serpensortia_, used to set a snake on someone. Snape had taught me that one. We trained until 11:30, and then walked to the trophy room. I wore my robes, my Slytherin Princess Tiara, my jade earrings, silver charm bracelet, and an evil sneer. Draco was wearing his robes, a large ring, and a matching evil grin. He had spiked his hair and he looked sooo cute! Why I was thinking about that at a time like this, I don't know.

The trophy room was more than large enough for a wizard's duel, the polished trophies glinting at us from every angle. We stood, wands at the ready, waiting for Potter and Weasley to show up. Draco had wanted to bring Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy, but I had called him a wimp again so just the two of us went. No doubt Potty would bring his whole gang of worshippers.

"Go a-WAY, Hermione -" I heard Weasley say.

Granger the Mudblood hissed, "If you get us in trouble I'll just say I was trying to stop you, maybe we won't lose so many points!"

"All of you people shut up!" Lilac's voice.

Potter whispered urgently, "We're nearly there - " Draco and I were ready.

**Lilac**

At 9 o'clock, I hurried to the Gryffindor Common Room. I think I was allowed to be there, no one said I wasn't, and I wasn't as touchy with rules as Hermione. The boys were hunched over a table, and I thought they were studying up on spells. A closer look revealed that they were reading a book about the Chudley Cannons.

"Really, you guys!"

They both looked embarrased. Ron was red and his freckles seemed to disappear, and Harry looked down at his shoes. I sighed. "Well, then. Let's get going."  
I taught them any useful spells, curses, and hexes I knew. Neither of the dodos could remember the spell to block curses, so we practiced _protego_on each other as well. At 11:30, when I deemed them ready, we left. It was decided that I would come with them just in case. I braided my hair so that it wouldn't get in the way and attached a large lilac made of amethyst to the bottom of the braid (still almost 3 feet long). If I swung it at someone, it was deadly.

I cast Disillusionment Charm on all 3 of us. "This way," I said. "We don't have to worry about running into anyone on the way there." But just as we were about to leave through the portrait of the Fat Lady, Hermione appeared in a fluffy pink bathrobe.

"I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry," she said.

"You!" Ron whispered furiously. "Go back to bed!"

"I almost told your brother. Percy - he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this."

"Hermione - " I started.

"Don't you guys care about Gryffindor, Lilac, don't you care about Ravenclaw, you and Malfoy and Penny aren't the only people who exist - "

"Hermione - " I tried to argue. The boys were clambering out of the portrait hole.

"Fine! Go!" she said. "But don't say I didn't warn you -" She turned around to go back to the common room, to find that the Fat Lady had disappeared. I giggled.

"Now I guess you have to come with us," I said.

"I guess I do." I cast a Disillusionment Charm on her, and we set off after the boys, whispering about spells and such. We came across a shivering object on the floor. Closer examination revealed it to be Neville.

"Thank... Goodness you found me," he said, his teeth chattering. "I've been out here for hours!"

"Well, the Fat Lady's gone for a walk," Hermione said. "But the password is Pig Snout."

"Fat lot of good that does me now," Neville grumbled.

"Okay, bye Neville, we've got to go - "

"No!" he cried. "Don't leave me! I don;t want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already."

Ron and Harry wandered back towards us, probably wondering what was taking us so long. "Neville - " Harry started.

"He's coming," I interrupted.

"But - " Ron started.

"Shut up, Ron, they're coming and you can't do anything about it," I snapped.

Ron looked at his watch and then glared at Neville and Hermione. "If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you."

"_Mucus ad Nauseam,_" I said automatically, then realized that would probably be harmful to Hermione and Neville. Oops. Hermione punched me (though not as hard as Penny's "soft punches").

"Thanks, Lilac!" Ron said happily.

"Let's get going, guys," said Harry. "It's nearly a quarter 'till." We set off towards the trophy room. Hermione started talking nervously about us getting into trouble and making noise and other such things. Ron kept telling her to leave, and she replied by saying that she couldn't get into the common room. It went on like this for some time.

"Go a-WAY, Hermione -" Ron said.

Hermione hissed, "If you get us in trouble I'll just say I was trying to stop you, maybe we won't lose so many points!"

"Just shut up both of you!" I snapped.

Harry whispered, "We're nearly there - " We had arrived at the trophy room. Malfoy and Penny were there, wands at the ready.

**Penny  
**  
"Brought your little gang of followers, eh, Potter?" Draco sneered. I giggled. Lilac stared at me, and I stared my most piercing glare back. She didn't blink or flinch. Ah, well, she was used to it. Lilac was possibly the only person on the planet who could withstand my evil glare.

"Hello, Malfoy," Potter said, "Nice to see you, too." Ron smiled.

Draco shot a curse out of nowhere at Lilac. "Furnunculus!" he yelled. Large boils would have appeared all over her skin, but she had extremely quick reflexes, and blocked it far before it reached her. She seemed to duel almost lazily... and she looked like she was having... fun! The spell rebounded off of her silent shield and hit Draco. Boils erupted all over him. "What - you will pay, Starre!" he yelled. She laughed in return and shot another curse at him soundlessly. She somehow knew how to do nonverbalspells. What?

"Tarantellegra!" she said, laughing all over again. Draco's legs started moving like crazy. He was quite a good dancer, but it didn't look as good when his expression was one of pure hate mixed with fury and surprise, and he was covered in boils. I stifled a laugh. He couldn't stop dancing.

"Avis!" Weasley yelled. A flock of canaries appeared in thin air.

"Canaries?" I said. "That's all you can do?" I laughed mirthlessly, and Lilac shuddered. This was my new laugh, for a new me. She hadn't heard it before, and it was obvious she didn't like it.

"Oppugno!" Weasley said. The canaries flew towards me in a "V" formation, about to attack.

"Evanesco," I said, and the canaries vanished. Lilac shot a purple curse at me. I didn't know what it was, but I blocked it just in time.

"Densaugeo!" Harry said, and Draco's teeth began to grow at an alarming rate.

"What the - " he said, but his speech was cut off by his front teeth, which had now grown past his chin. He clasped a hand to his mouth, completely embarrassed, and ran off to either the Common Room or the Hospital Wing, his teeth now down to his chest. Now, it was five to one. Me against 4 Gryffindors and a Ravenclaw. I needed to get some of them out of the way, somehow.

"Stupefy!" I yelled, and Longbottom fell to the ground, useless.

"Rictumsempra!" Hermione screamed, and I started laughing like a hyena. I couldn't stop, it was like I was being tickled by 6 invisible hands. Just as I was about to collapse on the floor, I pointed my wand at myself and gasped out the countercurse.

"Clau - si - sempr - a" I managed to say between giggles, and I stopped laughing a split second before I had to block the _Petrificus Totalus_that Potter had just sent my way.

"Stupefy!" I yelled, and Weasley went down as well. Now it was just me, Potty, Lilac, and Granger. "Immobilus!" I screamed, and Potter froze in place. "Not so much of a hero now, are you, Potty," I sneered. He stared back, not being able to move. Time to cast my (to-be) signature spell. "Serpensortia!" I yelled. A jet-black snake slithered onto the floor. Granger and Lilac stared at it.

"Can you - " Lilac asked, turning to Granger urgently, who nodded. Lilac kept her now almost-glowing purple eyes on the snake, while Granger whispered, "Mobilicorpus!" and lifted the frozen forms of Potter, Weasley, and Longbottom and walked out of the trophy room. It was just me and Lilac now. Just how I had always wanted it. This was going to be good. I laughed evilly.

**Lilac  
**  
The duel went pretty well. Malfoy left because of all the curses we set on him, and Penny started laughing so hard that she barely escaped being petrified, although she did knock out Neville, Harry, and Ron. I can't believe I didn't block those. Hermione took them all to the Common Room to recover, and hopefully she had the sense to disillusion them all before leaving, or they would be caught.

It was just down to me and Penny. I was facing a seven-foot long serpent, and I stared at it apprehensively while Penny laughed that evil, mirthless, un-Penny-like laugh. But I guess this was Penny. This wasn't the Penny I used to have. This was a totally transformed, evil Penny. *sigh*

When I got pressured, angry, really happy, really sad, or basically any other big emotion, my eyes would almost glow with a faint purple light. It was cool (but creepy). I stared at the snake.

I waited until the exact right moment. The snake slowly lifted its upper body off of the ground. It prepared to kill. "INCENDIO!" I yelled just as the snake was about to strike. A jet of blue fire struck it in the head, and it dissolved into a pile of ashes. Penny stared at me, like she couldn't believe I defeated the snake.

"I'm not that stupid, you know," I said. She sneered in return. I knew she could never go back to the girl she used to be, no matter how much I wanted my best friend back, no matter how much I could beg and plead, she would never be the real Penny again. "We can still be friends..." I started.

She didn't talk. Instead, she tried to set a Bat-Bogey hex on me. "Protego," I said softly. "Penny - "

"No."

"Fine. If you want to - "  
"Lilac, we're not friends anymore. I thought you realized that a long time ago. I have new friends now."

I felt choked up. But here we were, dueling each other, when we could be hugging each other. To try to hug Penny right now would be suicide. So instead, I spun around, finally giving usefulness to the lilac in my hair. It hit her face and left an angry red welt, but that just made her madder. "You will - " but she didn't have time to finish, because I cast the slug-vomiting charm on her, and she started throwing up disgusting green slugs all over the place. She looked really angry, but she couldn't curse me as an effect of slugs spilling out of her mouth, and she could barely move. She gave me one last look of pure hate, then staggered out of the room.

I smiled. Revenge was sweet.

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Happy with the results? Not happy with the results? I DON'T CARE! Just review! (please)


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Yay Quidditch! Who should make the teams? Read on to find out.

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**Chapter 8: Quidditch Tryouts**

**Penny  
**  
The duel with Lilac didn't go so well. I hate to admit it, but she was a better wizard then me, there was no getting around it, even if I was a better person, and I  
hung out with better company. I didn't feel at all guilty battling her, like she obviously did. She deserved it.

I finished vomiting slugs into a large bucket I had found at 7 in the morning, and by then Pansy and the others were waking up and I had to get dressed for breakfast. I yawned. No point in sleeping now or I would be late for class. I wished it was Saturday, but it didn't happen. It was still Friday.

On top of that, I had Double Herbology with the Ravenclaws. Yup, the best moral booster for me was definitely to see Lilac again. I ate some toast and eggs, and shuffled out to Greenhouse 1 with Draco, who didn't look any better than me.

"How was your night?" I asked innocently, stifling another yawn.

He stared at me. "How do you think?"

"Ummm..."

"I went straight to the Hospital Wing when I left. I can't believe I did that, Potty thinks I'm a wimp now... Anyways, I had to tell Pomfrey something, so I told her that we were 'studying' and 'experimenting with spells' on each other. I don't (yawn) think she believed me, but she cured my boils and teeth, and stopped my dancing. She was laughing so hard..." his face had turned a slight shade of pink. I giggled and yawned at the same time, it was more like a cross between the two.

"Consider yourself lucky," I told him. "I was throwing up slugs until 7 this morning, and I got no sleep at all."

He laughed meanly. "You know, Potty got a broomstick."

"WHAT! First years aren't allowed - "

"I know, but it was something with 'special circumstances' with McGonagall, Flitwick was squeaking on about it, and Potter and Weasley were showing off at breakfast."

"Mmm," I said. "I wasn't really paying attention at breakfast, I was trying to get a few winks in." I yawned.

"Quidditch tryouts are this evening," he added thoughtfully.

"WHAT!" I said for the second time in ten minutes. Now I was fully awake. "Great, I'm so tired I have absolutely NO chance of getting on the team," I said.

We arrived at the greenhouse. I steeled myself and walked inside. Lilac saw me and smirked, and mouthed, "nice slugs," and I barely stopped myself from blowing up. _Count to ten,_ I thought. I wanted to curse her sooo bad...

**Lilac**

I could tell that I was making Penny angry in Herbology, but it was just so funny! Maybe I had a bit of Slytherin in me as well. I practiced for Quidditch tryouts behind the castle at lunch, and I thought I was doing quite well. I got bored in Quirrell's class (as always), but then I had a chance to talk to Ron, Hermione, and Harry in double Transfiguration. We were trying to turn beetles into buttons, and the four of us were grouped at a table. I waved my wand and the shiny green beetle transformed into a perfect, round, black button.

"How do you do that?" Ron stared in awe. His "button" was still shiny and was trying to scuttle off the table.

"Practice, dear," I said mockingly.

Professor McGonagall hurried over. "Nicely done, Starre. Why don't we move you on to mice into mittens. You, too, Granger," she said, spotting Hermione's purple button. We each took a mouse from a box and set off trying to turn them into mittens.

"So guys, what happened last night?" I asked.

"How would I know, I was out cold," said Ron.

"Well, I wasn't, Storm just froze me," said Harry. "So Hermione took us to the common room, unfroze me and Neville and revived Ron. She is pretty good at that stuff..."

Hermione blushed. "It was just a simple countercurse... and I used a disillusionment charm to get them to the common room., I left them there and you took a really long time, so I was wondering what had happened to you. On my way to the trophy room, Filch must have been lurking around, because he said, 'I hear  
footsteps...' and I met Peeves."

"Oh, no. Not Peeves!" I said.

"And I told him not to tell Filch I was there, and of course he did the exact opposite, cackling about me getting in trouble, and then he yelled, 'FIRST YEAR ON THE THIRD FLOOR!' and Filch came over, so I unlocked a door with magic and ran inside.""

"So you got away from Filch?"

"Yes. But... in the door..."

"I'm listening," I said while tranfiguring my fourth mouse.

"I think," she whispered. "It was the door that Professor Dumbledore told us about at the beginning of the year. About dying a very painful death... and I think it was true." I looked at her. She didn't seem to be dead.

"What was in it?" I asked.

"A - A giant, three-headed dog. It was standing on a trapdoor. It was asleep, but I took my chances and went back into the corridor."

"Good idea. Filch is better than painful death."

"Filch had already gone, so I went back to the Common Room," Hermione concluded.

Harry seemed to be thinking hard. "A trapdoor... so it was guarding something, presumably?"

"Tell him I said yes," she told me. I had forgotten that Hermione wasn't talking to Harry or Ron. Even after she had taken them back to the Common Room after the duel, they refused to thank her and still regarded her as a bossy know-it-all, which I thought really mean of them, but I relayed this information to Harry.  
Harry's face lit up like he had realized something important. He told us about going to Gringotts with Hagrid, and how Hagrid had taken the little package out of the vault, and how the vault was broken into the same day after it had been emptied.

"It's either really valuable or really dangerous," Ron reasoned.

"Or both," Harry added. I nodded. The way Harry described it, the only thing we knew about the mysterious object was that it was about 2 inches across.  
McGonagall walked over again. "Enough of the chit-chat, all of you," she said, giving a disapproving look to Harry and Ron's beetles, which were still attempting to scuttle off of the table. She gave me scorpion, which I had to transfigure into a piece of chocolate. Before I knew it, class was over and I had a delicious bar of Honeyduke's best (scorpion) chocolate, which I broke into pieces and shared with my friends.

**Penny  
**  
It was a good day for Quidditch. Sunny, but not sunny enough to blind, and not to hot with a cooling breeze. Someone had set up a few very tall walls, which divided the field into four parts for each of the houses. Marcus Flint, the captain of the Slytherin team, stood there with his Comet 260 in his hand.  
"All right, you lot," he called to all of the people trying out. "The openings we have are one Chaser and one Seeker. Now, you first years, don't get your hopes up too much, but if everyone else sucks you might just have a chance." Draco snickered. "Mount your brooms, everyone!"

I got onto my broom and rose into the air. "If you're trying out for Chaser, go over there," Flint said, pointing to the left, "and Seekers on the right."

"Good luck, Malfoy" I said.

"Same to you, Storm." We sped off in separate directions.

All in all, the tryouts went pretty well. I got the ball past the Keeper, I would say ⅔ of the time. There were only five other people trying out for the position of Chaser: 2 second years, one third year and 2 fourth years. Both of the second years were no good, but the third year was basically equal to my skill, and the fourth years were no competition at all. I had a pretty good chance. We would find out who got the positions on Sunday. The first practice was on Tuesday evening. We had practice on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, as well as the Hufflepuffs, but at different times. Gryffindor had Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and so did the Ravenclaws.

I was exhausted and fell asleep before my head touched the pillow.

The next morning at breakfast, six large screech owls arrived carrying a long, thin, package for Potter. Along with it came a letter, which must have said not to open it at a table, but it was easy to see that Potter was happy, and it was obvious that the package contained a broom. They left the hall soon after that, and Draco went off with Crabbe and Goyle to talk to them. I overheard from a room nearby -

Draco grabbed the package. "That's a broomstick," he said, giving it back to Potter. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them."

Weasley couldn't resist bragging; poor boy, he'd probably never had anything to brag about. "It's not just any old broomstick, it's a Nimbus 2000. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet 260? Comet's look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."

"What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Draco snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig." I knew that Draco was always teasing Weasley about how poor his family was, but he was always exaggerating. Before Weasley could answer, Professor Flitwick showed up, talking about 'special circumstances' for Potter's broom." Potter walked away, saying that it was really thanks to Malfoy that he had the broom, because if Draco hadn't stolen the Remembrall, he wouldn't have made the team. Draco and his bodyguards clenched their fists, but they couldn't do  
anything with Flitwick standing right there.

I walked away, giving a disapproving look to Draco. He smirked.

On Saturday at breakfast, I watched Lilac receive a letter. Her face lit up and she smiled really big. I wondered what the letter said... it was probably from McGonagall, saying that she got 3000% on a quiz or something like that.

On Sunday at breakfast, I got a letter informing me that I was the new chaser! YESSSSSSS! In your face, Lilac! Terence Higgs got a letter, too, but Draco didn't get one, so I guess that Higgs was the Seeker.

**Lilac**

At Quidditch tryouts that evening, the sky was perfect for flying. We had shared tryouts with Hufflepuff, so the field was split into two parts.

The captain of the Quidditch team, Roger Davies, yelled out to all of us, "We only have one opening this year - " I held my breath. "That position is beater." I wanted to whoop with joy. I had a chance! A lot of people sighed or looked sad. "If you play Beater, please go over there," Davies said, pointing to the right. "And if you don't, you can still try out, or you can leave." More than half of the people left. A couple came over to our side. Now there was only me, a 3rd year, and two 2nd years. I actually had a pretty good chance.

We cooperated with the Hufflepuffs (they had Chasers and a Keeper trying out) to set up a small game. I flew my best, wind whipping my extremely long hair. I beated with all my might. I think I did pretty well for a first year. Davies told us that we would find out who was on the team tomorrow, and our first practice was on Sunday.

On Saturday morning, I went down to breakfast and a small owl landed on my head, carrying a letter for me. It seemed to think that my hair was some kind of nest. After I shooed it away, I opened the letter. It was from Roger Davies.

_Lilac -_  
_Great job at the Quidditch tryouts yesterday! I know that first years don't usually get on their house teams - _Here, my heart skipped a beat - _but you were a better beater than all of the other people trying out. Congratulations! You are the new beater for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. _OH. MY. GOD. I MADE THE TEAM! I must have been glowing at that moment.  
_-Roger Davies_

I couldn't contain myself. I ran to the Gryffindor table and told Ron and Harry the news. "Wow, Lilac! You really don't seem like a beater!" Ron said.

"Gee, thanks."

"What I mean is - "

"You can shut up now."

"You'll be playing against my brothers," Ron offered.

"Maybe they won't kill me because I'm awesome," I said.

"They might faint of shock," Ron suggested.

"That's nice."


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I DO own the Slytherin Prank. Yay! READ to find out what exactly the Slytherin Prank IS.

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**Chapter 9: The Slytherin Prank**

**Penny**

Then it was Halloween. By then it was like Lilac and I had never even met. I didn't talk or wave to her. Who needs Ravenclaws? She had turned into one of those nerds. Or maybe she was always like that. I couldn't believe I used to be friends with her. So anyway, it was Halloween. Classes were getting more difficult, but I loved the challenge.

I was enjoying being the Slytherin Princess. See, the Snake Royalty has to come up with a tradition to carry on, or at least attempt to, and mine and Draco's idea was a prank. Everyone loved it. We decided this year we would all disappear. Like, vanish into thin air, and blame it on Potter. It was simple enough. Some of the older kids who needed to study during the time that we were pulling the prank used a Disillusionment Charm, while the rest of us just hid in random places. Draco, Pansy, Blaise, and I were stationed at the top of the Astronomy Tower. Once we were found, and were asked what happened, we would say, " Potter put us here and said if we didn't stay put, he'd use the Imperious curse on us until we did." It was pure genius! We did it on a Friday, and we were hidden all over the school. Some of us were in the Quidditch Field, some near the Forbidden Forest, some randomly on the grounds, and some just in random places throughout the school. On Friday, the entire Slytherin House VANISHED.

I had raided the kitchens last night and gotten food for my group. We brought our homework up and had a picnic. We had taken all the books we might need from the library the day before, and had a pleasant day hanging out, laughing at ridiculous homework answers, and all in all just having a good time. Until we heard voices on the stairs.

"Hide our stuff!" I whispered loudly, and we shrunk the food and stuffed our books in our bags, and looked bored. Turns out it was one of the Slytherin prefects, I didn't know his name.

"Great job, guys. Everyone thinks it was Potter. You're the last ones to be rounded up, so they told me to take you to dinner," the boy said. "From what I hear, the Gryffindors were quite happy we were gone until the first people were found and Potter began to be blamed. The other two houses don't know we all blamed Potter, just that we disappeared."

"So, it was a success?" Draco asked.

"Yes. A very good one."

"Well of course it was, because Penny came up with it," Draco said. I laughed evilly and awesomely.

"Come on, guys," the prefect said. "This may have been the best Snake Tradition yet. And no one suspects a thing about us framing Potter." How wrong we were... If Lilac knows, everyone knows. And Lilac knew. We were about to be in deep shiitake mushrooms.

**Lilac**

Yes, of course the other houses knew nothing about the Slytherins blaming poor Harry. I don't think they realized that Gryffindors have friends (ahem ahem) in other houses. At the time that I found out, I was finishing up my Charms and Transfiguration homework with Hermione, Harry and Ron in the library.

"Hermione, will you help me with this?" Ron asked, trying to look innocent.

Hermione shot him a murderous glare and said sternly (apparently talking to him again), "Finish it first. Then we'll see."

"That's a yes," Ron whispered to me. I giggled.

Harry handed me his homework. I looked at him. He stared right back, those piercing green eyes penetrating my soul or something. "Oh, fine." I admitted defeat. I fixed his homework. He was hopeless without me.

Ron was eating a chocolate frog. "I got Dumbledore, you want it, LIlac?"

"Sure." I grabbed the card and slipped it into my bag. "Ah, today is so nice with all of the Slytherins gone... they have done us all a favor. Even the teachers are happy. Well, except for Snape." We all laughed.

Suddenly, my dear cousin Lavender ran in, breathless, and yelled, "The Slytherins... blamed.. Harry... said he threatened... with Imperious..." But she was being too loud and right after that Madam Pince, the evil librarian (I know, how could a librarian be evil? Hurtful!) banished her from the room.

"Great," I said. "Harry, do you even know what the Imperious curse is?"

"Um... no?" he replied, unsure.

"Good," Hermione replied. I thought that Harry being blamed had stimulated her to be nice to the boys. "But just for your information, it's an Unforgivable curse that gives you complete control over the victim;, but you would get sent to jail for it. If we don't clear you soon, you'll be in deep trouble."

"It was Penny's idea," I said, feeling ultimate betrayal at that point. "The Slytherins probably said that you forced them to go into hiding and if they didn't, you would Imperious them. Heartless. Well, that's what all the Slytherins are. Heartless." I sighed. "Luckily, I'm a super genius. And I have a plan! So we're going to go save you from being expelled!"

"Yay!" said Ron. We all stared at him. "What? We get to get the git in trouble!"

I assumed he was talking about Penny.

I agreed.

Then I got to work on my super-genius plan.

**Penny**

Lilac. I KNEW she was the one who had framed me. I knew it, I knew it! Who cares, the prank was so much fun. I think if it's the whole Slytherin House against the Golden Quartet (I would be FINE with Lilac if she didn't hang out with a show off, a Potty, and a Weasel), we would win. I was wrong.

See Lilac's plan was extremely complicated, involving solid slime (don't ask), a large jar of eyeballs, an evil coat, a flying piano, and lots of disillusionment charms (I think those were her specialty). And MITTENS. That was the worst part. Mittens. (shudder). Basically, she got revenge on us Slytherins and freed Potter from blame at the same time. WHY did she have to be a super-genius!

And one more thing I had to learn the hard way: Lilac was smart. Everyone knew that. But she was also very wise, and she would make a horrible enemy, worse than me or Draco or even maybe Snape. She thought before she acted, she would never do something stupid to get back at you without thinking about the consequences first. If she made a plan to kill you, it would succeed. She was much wiser than her years.

"Why do you act like you rule the place?" Her long hair whipped in the wind, giving this angry conversation a very dramatic look.

"'Cause maybe I kinda DO, Lilac. Seriously. I have NOTHING against Ravenclaws, so if you hung out with people in your own house, not 'oh, we're SO noble Gryffindors', we could be friends again!" I yelled at my former best friend across the hall.

"I don't even want to be friends with you, you git! You've changed." She came closer, stopped screaming, and tried to control herself. "You... you used to be nice. You- You used to be my BFF. You were kind. You ca-cared about- about other people's feelings." I didn't give any sign that I cared about what she was saying, which I did, but she wasn't going to know that. "You're an idiot!" she yelled. "And you know what, in a lot of ways I am way better than you!"

"You're smarter, so what. But I'm smart and I don't show off like you and Granger do, the stupid Mudblood." I could see that the last word hurt, mostly because the Golden Quartet were all standing in front of me. Maybe not the best idea, because I knew that Lilac and Granger together would be an unbeatable team, and they would get revenge. I shot a leg-locker curse at Weasley and ran away.

**Lilac  
**  
Well, Penny, what you didn't include is that after you leg-locked Ron, I shot a tickling curse at you, and perhaps you were to embarrassed to admit that the whole day you were laughing and so you couldn't answer a SINGLE QUESTION in any of your classes.

Yup, that served Penny right.

Penny started calling the four of us "The Golden Quartet" which makes absolutely no sense because we don't sing. Well, I do, but the rest of them don't (but I do have a pretty awesome voice, if I do say so myself). I wrote a letter to Mum that day,

_Dear Mum,__  
__How are you? How are Violet and Dad doing?  
__Things are going well here at Hogwarts. Lavender is still trying to get me to pierce my ears; she keeps sneaking up on me and trying to magic holes onto my ears. Like that will ever happen!  
__Guess who is here this year: HARRY POTTER! I hang out a lot with him, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. They are all in Gryffindor, but Hermione is really smart and fun to be with, and so are the boys.  
__Things with Penny aren't going too well. She's in Slytherin (obviously) but she's changed. She's really becoming evil. She hangs out with Draco Malfoy (evil [pure-blood] family, former Death Eaters) and was crowned Slytherin Princess for the first years. Then she pulled a really cruel trick where all the Slytherins vanished for a day and blamed it on Harry. She's been being really mean. Our friendship is basically over.  
__Well, besides that, I'm having fun! I might/might not come home for Christmas. If Penny is coming home, I'm not coming. We haven't been talking to each other at all and avoiding each other at all costs, so I don't think I can stand 2 weeks with only her for company. But I will get revenge on her... someday.  
I made my house team for Quidditch! I am now one of the beaters! I'm getting good grades in all my classes as well.  
__I miss you. See you soon!  
__Love,  
__Lilac :)_

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So, what do you think? Review! Or the Slytherins will disappear and blame it on you and you WILL get into trouble with Snape!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Why is the number of views dwindling as I write more chapters?

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**Chapter 10: Troll**

**Penny**

Quidditch practices were going well, and we were preparing for the first match of the season, Slytherin vs. Gryffindor. We were pretty good, but from what I'd heard, Potter was a really good Seeker, so Higgs would have to keep a close eye on the Snitch.

I was so busy with homework, Quidditch practice, and trying to avoid Lilac's "revenge"s, but I could hardly believe it when Halloween came. We were working on Levitation in Charms (Wingardium Leviosa) and I did pretty well. I was the only one who could lift my feather, so I earned 5 points for Slytherin. I would bet ten galleons that Lilac got more points, though. After all, Flitwick favored Ravenclaw, and she had probably progressed from feathers onto pillows and such.

On Halloween, the Great Hall looked amazing. Live bats fluttered around the ceiling, and gigantic jack-o-lanterns flickered along the walls. The delicious smell of pumpkin pie floated around the corridors. I was had just started on my turkey when Professor Quirrell rushed into the hall, his turban bouncing around (lolz).

He slumped against the teacher table and gasped, "Troll - in the dungeons - thought you ought to know." Then he fainted.

It was instant uproar. Professor Dumbledore shot purple firecrackers from his wand to quiet everyone down, and ordered the prefects to take us back to the dormitories. Draco and I walked in the middle of the throng, discussing the troll.

"Who do you think let it in?" he asked.

"I dunno.. Peeves, maybe? Or..." I thought harder. "It could have been Quirrell!"

"Quirrell?" he said, laughing. "Quirrell! He's scared of his own subject and students! How could he have let a troll in?" But I kept thinking about it... and I kept thinking that Quirrell may not have been who he seemed to be.

**Lilac**

It was Halloween. We had moved on to transfiguring non-living things into living things in Transfiguration (instead of vice versa), which was much harder, and we had started practicing Wingardium Leviosa in Charms (which I already knew) on Thursday.

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked tiny Professor Flitwick, perched on top of a pile of books. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick."

Harry and Ron seemed to be having a lot of trouble. Seamus in Gryffindor got so impatient that he prodded the feather they were supposed to be levitating with his wand, and accidentally set it on fire. Ron started laughing uncontrollably, and I had to shoot an aguamenti spell at it to put it out. Professor Flitwick saw that, too, and he gave me ten points just for knowing that spell.

Ron and Harry still weren't having much luck at all. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Ron shouted, waving his arms around.

"You're saying it wrong," Hermione snapped. "It's Wing-gaaaar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."

"You do it then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.

Hermione rolled up her sleeves, swished and flicked, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!" Her feather rose off the desk and hovered four feet above our heads.

"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!" Ron stopped talking to Hermione after that.

Most people's faces were purple and they couldn't get it, but I just swished and flicked and said, "WinGARdium LeviOsa." My feather flew up and hit the ceiling. Then I made it zoom over and tickle Professor Flitwick's belly. He chuckled when he saw my wand pointed at him and gave me a pillow.

"Here, try floating this, and ten points to Ravenclaw!" he squeaked. The pillow glided neatly into a little box near the front. Then I floated Professor Flitwick and made him land softly on the pillows. He knew it was me and pretended to fall asleep. Hermione laughed, and Ron shot us a dirty look. I glared right back, willing my eyes to glow, just to freak him out. He took a step back.

"It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said, talking about Hermione, to Harry as we were exiting class. "She's a nightmare, honestly."

Hermione heard. She rushed past him, in tears, and sprinted straight into the bathroom.

"Hermione!" I yelled. I followed her and tried to calm her down, but she wouldn't talk to me and said she wanted to be left alone.

"Look what you've done, Ron!" I said. "Hermione's crying in the girl's bathroom. Do you feel any better?" He looked awkward and mumbled something like, "didn't mean it that harshly," but before I could snap back, we walked into the Great Hall. It took my breath away.

The whole place glowed with an orange light. A thousand live bats fluttered from the ceiling. Giant pumpkins (grown by Hagrid, along with some Engorgement charms) were carved out into large jack-o-lanterns and lined the walls of the Great Hall. I sat down at the Ravenclaw table and started tucking into my pie (dessert first is my motto - what if we had to evacuate a moment later?). Poor Hermione; she was crying in the bathroom, missing this wonderful feast. I finished early and decided to go visit her.

**Penny**

As we were walking to the common room, we passed the girl's bathrooms. I had heard that Granger was sobbing in there about something Weasley said, and my suspicions were confirmed when I saw Lilac slipping into the bathroom. She was probably going to comfort the Mudblood.

I could hear the troll yelling in the next corridor. It was coming towards the bathroom. Good. I hoped Lilac got hurt really badly in there, as well as Granger. And who knows, maybe Potter and Weasley would come to save them and also get hurt. Or die, that would be better. Muah ha ha! (evil laughter)

The Slytherin Common Room was right below the bathrooms, and I listened to what was going on in there. Potter yelled something, and then the troll bellowed, "Gaaaarrrr!" I heard a bit of metal smacking against the stone walls, and Lilac cursing. Wow. Something really crazy must have been going on, Lilac never cursed. It was probably that she forgot her wand, she got hurt, or something else really bad happened. Then I heard a crack, and she screamed in pain. Ooh, bad one.

Then, I heard footsteps. McGonagall walked in and yelled at the four of them, and took some points from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. I can't say it felt good, but it didn't exactly feel bad either.

While I was sitting in a chair, listening to what was happening above, and staring into space, someone had moved all of the small, circular tables together to make one big table. It was piled high with food from the feast, which had been moved down here so that we could finish eating. I dug in and almost forgot about my Quirrell theory.

Almost.

**Lilac**

I tiptoed into the bathroom. I knew that the stall that was closed contained Hermione, but she was silent. Suddenly, I saw a flash of purple outside the bathroom door. What was that? I peeked my head outside and saw Professor Quirrell. He stopped right outside the door, holding a thick rope. He ushered a large, gray, lumpy, smelly troll into the castle, and led it down the stairs to the dungeons. He came back out a second later, and zoomed off to the direction of the Great Hall.

The troll started lumbering towards us. "Hermione, you've got to come out, there's a troll and it's heading this way!" I said. She crept out of the stall silently.

I heard a loud commotion coming from all of the students at the feast, and I stuck my head back into the bathroom as many feet walked past. Harry and Ron sprinted into the bathroom.

"What the - " I said. "Why are you guys here?"

"There's a troll, it's heading our way!" Ron said breathlessly.

"I know there's a troll, Quirrell sent it in - "

"Wait WHAT!" Harry yelled. "Quirrell?"

I didn't have time to answer, as the troll stomped into the bathroom. "Gaaarrrrrr!" it yelled.

"That's nice," I said in a small voice. Hermione backed up against the far wall, frozen in terror, her face read-streaked from crying. She looked like she was going to faint. She gripped onto the wall for dear life.

"Confuse it!" Harry yelled to Ron, and he seized a tap from the sink and threw it at the wall. The troll blinked stupidly, a few feet away from Hermione, and turned around to see what had made the noise.

"Oy, pea-brain!" Ron yelled, and he threw a metal pipe at it as Harry ran around to the other side of it.

Harry grabbed Hermione's arm and attempted to pull her towards the door. "Come on, run, run!" Harry said to Hermione, but she was still shrinking against the wall, her mouth open in terror.

"Hermione, you've got to move," I said. She still stood there, like a statue. The troll strode towards me.

"I'll freeze it!" I said. I groped for my wand in my pocket, but it wasn't there. I reached into my bag, but it wasn't there either. No! I must have left it in the Common Room when I went down to dinner. Great. "I don't have my wand!," I screamed, and said some choice curse words (that I can't repeat) a little louder than I had planned. The lights had gone off and the only light now was from my glowing eyes. Now I was actually glad that they lit up. The whole place glowed an eerie purple. My favorite color, but... not so much right now.

"What is going on?" Harry said, examining my eyes carefully.

"They glow! It happens, okay!" I snapped. "Now watch out the troll is behind you. And I don't have my wand to protect you this time!"

"Great," Ron said sarcastically. "You're always carrying the thing around, practicing your spells, and the one time we need it, you don't have it?"

"Oh, shut up," I snapped, turning my head towards Ron, looking away from the troll. He slowly looked up in terror. In that one moment, the troll took a swipe with its club at me. Luckily, I had quick reflexes and dived out of the way, but not fast enough to avoid getting hit in the arm and hip by the club. A nasty crack followed.

"Lilac! Are you okay?"

I felt like sleeping. It didn't really hurt, just left me dizzy. I put my hand to my side and felt something wet. Blood. "I think they're broken," I mumbled, then crumpled to the ground against the wall. Shaking my head to regain my senses, I felt around for the light switch and flipped it on.

"Good idea," Ron said. I mumbled something like 'thanks' back. Or maybe it was 'you're welcome'. Not sure.

Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid. He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck, which was about 11 feet in the air. Wow. His wand had been in his hand, and it had gone up the troll's nostril. Howling in pain, the troll swung its club, with Harry hanging on for dear life, about to be flung off of the troll's neck.

Ron yelled the first spell that popped into his head. "Wingardium Leviosa!" It actually worked this time. The club flew out of the troll's hand, rose high into the air, and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto the troll's head. The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, making the whole room tremble. We had made quite a racket.

Harry shakily got to his feet. "Well, that was quite an adventure," Ron said.

"I'd say that's a bit of an understatement," I said, rolling my eyes. I couldn't feel anything. My whole right side was numb.

Hermione finally spoke in a very small voice. "Is it - dead?" She came away from the wall to inspect the troll.

"I don't think so," Harry replied. "I think it's just been knocked out." He pulled his wand out of the troll's nose, covered in disgusting gray goo. "Urgh - troll boogers." He wiped it on the troll's pants.

"That was really brave, what you did there, Harry," I said, holding my arm.

He smiled. "Thanks. Are you okay?"

"Um... not really. But I'll be fine," I said. He still looked uncomfortable.

Then I heard footsteps. "Uh oh," Ron said.

"You got that right," I said.

McGonagall burst into the room angrily, followed by Snape and Quirrell. In a normal circumstance, I probably would've yelled at Snape and Quirrell for being in the girls' restroom. Snape was looking positively livid. Quirrell took one look at the unconscious troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat down abruptly, clutching his heart. Snape glared at Quirrell murderously. "What on earth were you thinking of?" McGonagall said, cold fury in her voice. "You're lucky you weren't killed, and Miss Starre looks extremely close." Did I really look that bad? "Why weren't you in your dormitory?"

Nobody spoke up. I had to do something. I swallowed my fear and said, "Professor McGonagall?"

She looked at me, and her expression softened slightly. "Yes, Miss Starre."

Everyone was staring at me, including Snape, with that creepy penetrating glare of his. He stared straight into my eyes, and I realized they must be glowing. "Well," I continued quietly. "Hermione had been in here when dinner started, and she didn't know there was a troll, so I came down here to warn her. And then - well, the troll came in, and we thought we could deal with it, because we've read all about them... If Harry and Ron hadn't found us, we'd be dead now." Hermione nodded, and Harry and Ron tried to look like this story wasn't new to them.

Hermione continued from there. "And - Harry stuck his wand up the troll's nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. it was about to finish us off when they arrived, and Lilac might have died if Ron hadn't pulled her out of the way of the troll's club."

"Well - in that case..." said Professor McGonagall, staring at the four of us, "You foolish girls, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?" I hung my head, and Hermione did the same. Ron dropped his wand and Harry opened his mouth, but closed it quickly. Yes, we were pretending we had broken rules to get the boys out of trouble, and we were the last people on earth to ever think of breaking rules. Snape looked like Christmas had come early. Glee was evident on his face.

"5 points will be taken each from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. Miss Granger, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses." Hermione left quietly.

Professor McGonagall turned to me. "You'd better get over to the hospital wing. Can you stand?" I pushed myself up on my good arm, and something felt uncomfortable, like it wasn't in the right place. I sat back down abruptly. "Obviously not," she said, and dismissed Snape and Quirrell. She got me onto a levitating stretcher and sent me to the Hospital Wing.

Once inside, Madam Pomfrey looked at me and tutted. "What happened to you?"

"Troll," I said matter-of-factly.

She sighed. "Well, we'd better get you into bed, and you can spend the night here." Once I was floated onto a bed, she said, "Are you hungry at all?" I had completely lost my appetite, so I shook my head. "All right then," she said, and started examining my broken bones. "Broken upper arm... " She poked around, feeling my ribs, and I yelped. "Sorry... four broken ribs... and a dislocated femoral head. Miss Starre, you are really hurt."

"That's what troll clubs do," I said, grimacing.

She chuckled. "All right, I can fix the bones - " she pointed her wand at me, and I felt some bones clicking into place, "But you will need a lot of rest." I yawned. "And you can start now," she said. I lay down and she shut my curtains and turned off the lights. "Good night."

"Good night," I mumbled.

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REVIEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! (pretty please, with cherries, sprinkles, chocolate sauce, oreos...)


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own it!

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**Chapter 11: Nicolas Flamel  
**

**Penny**

A lot of people in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff felt bad for "Poor Lilac," but I think she deserved it. This was her payback for defeating me in the duel and then doing her little "revenge' thing on us Slytherins.

Quidditch season had begun! Our first match was on Saturday against Gryffindor. We would totally cream them. No one had a place right now, as there hadn't been any games yet. If we won, we would move up to second place in the cup. Everyone knew that Potter was the Seeker for the Gryffindor team, and all of us Slytherins kept telling him that we'd be running around underneath him holding a mattress. He didn't object, and he looked really nervous.

I caught Snape scolding Potter, Weasley, and Granger in the courtyard the other day. He limped over and took a book from Potter. He had probably made up that rule just to get them into trouble, which was fine by me. Lilac still wasn't back from the Hospital Wing. Good thing it was a weekend; she would be freaking out if she had to miss class. I saw what was wrong with his leg, as well. I came from the left and Potter came from the right, to enter the teacher staffroom, and we bumped into each other.

"Hello, Potty," I sneered.

"Hi, Penny!" he said brightly. I didn't have an answer to that. Most people ran away in fright when I sneered. He knocked on the door, and there was no answer, so he opened it. Snape and Filch were in there alone. One of Snape's legs was completely messed up, and Filch was handing him bandages.

"Blasted thing," Snape said. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?" I had no idea what he was talking about, but Potter seemed to. He shut the door, but Snape saw him. "POTTER!" Snape was furious, and he dropped his robes down to hide his leg.

Potter gulped. "I just wondered if I could have my book back."

"GET OUT! OUT!" Potter sprinted away.

I quietly walked backwards, because Snape didn't know I had been there, and then walked back towards the staffroom and knocked. Snape limped over and opened the door. "Yes, Miss Storm," he said.

"Umm..." I had just realized that I had forgotten why I had come. "Oh yeah! Is the essay due on Tuesday or Wednesday?"

"Monday," he said venomously.

Saturday morning was bright and cold. I wasn't nervous. We would beat them hollow. I ate a big breakfast, unlike my teammates, who barely touched their toast, and walked out to the locker rooms. Weasley, Granger, and a few other Gryffindors were holding up a large sheet, on which "Potter for President" was written. Underneath it was a Gryffindor lion, and the paint was flashing different colors. I snorted. There couldn't be anything less true.

Lilac was there, too, sitting next to Granger. She had bandages on her shoulder and her hip, but she was cheering just as loud as the rest.

"Hi, team!" I yelled, bouncing into the locker room. Most people let out their nervousness by talking too much or biting their nails, but I just got super hyper as a result of nerves. My craziness wasn't contagious, though. I was greeted with a few grunts from the rest of the team. Most of them were big and bulky anyways. I kind of expected them to grunt a lot. "What's the matter?" I asked.

"Last year when we played Gryffindor, we lost 10 to 120," Flint mumbled.

"Well, we're going to WIN this time!" I yelled. The team groaned. "Come on, Flint, we need a pep talk!"

He stared at me. "Fine. Kill them, guys. But not literally. I mean, it does sound appealing, but we would probably get in trouble. Now let's go." We marched onto the field (rather sleepily).

Madam Hooch was refereeing. She was hovering in the air on the side of the field. "Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said, looking at Flint dissaprovingly. I cast a look at Potter. He looked really nervous. Good. "Mount your brooms, please." I climbed onto my Comet 260, which my mom had sent me after I told her that I made the team (I am such a rebel *smirk*). Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her whistle, and I rose into the air. A Gryffindor named Lee Jordan was commentating, closely watched by Professor McGonagall.

"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor - what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too - "

"JORDAN!" McGonagall shouted.

"Sorry, Professor." I had to say, he had guts. I tailed Johnson (who had obviously not heard Jordan), but just as I was about to grab the Quaffle, she passed it to Spinnet. I shot after her and intercepted her toss to Bell, then zoomed towards the goal posts. I was about to score - according to Jordan, I was "flying like an eagle, or rather - snake" - but Wood grabbed it just as I shot. One quarter of the audience "aww"ed, while the rest cheered.

Bell got hit in the back of the head by a Bludger, so I took that chance to dart out and grab the Quaffle. Out of nowhere, a Bludger came speeding towards me. It was hit by one of those wretched Weasleys, and he grinned at me before flying off. Johnson grabbed the Quaffle and sped towards our goal posts. Bletchey dived and missed and Johnson scored. Gryffindor cheers filled the air, while all of the Slytherins booed.

So the game went on. We scored 6 times, and Gryffindor had only scored twice, making the score 60 to 20, but if Potter got the Snitch, we would lose. Suddenly, Jordan said, "Wait a moment - was that the Snitch?" Murmurs echoed through the crowd, and I saw it out of the corner of my eye - the tiny snitch was hovering above Pucey's left ear. Potter saw it too. He sped towards it, pushing his Nimbus 2000 to its fullest extent. Neck in neck, Higgs and Potter hurtled towards the Snitch.

Everyone was suspended in midair on their brooms, watching them. The other chasers seemed to have forgotten what to do, and the Keepers as well, so I seized the Quaffle and scored once. I don't think anyone saw.

Suddenly: _WHAM_! The Gryffindors all protested as Flint slammed into Potter on purpose. Potter hung on for dear life, his broom spinning out of control. Madam Hooch got mad and ordered a free penalty shot for Gryffindor, but by that time, everyone had lost sight of the Snitch.

And so the game resumed. Jordan, being a Gryffindor, was being extremely biased. "So - after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating - "

"JORDAN!" yelled McGonagall. It went on like that for some time, until Jordan continued commentating normally.

Potter's broom lurched, and he looked like he was going to fall off. His broom was completely out of control, but I had other things to worry about. Potter was dangling off his broom, hanging on with one hand. The game had stopped. I saw Lilac go talk to Quirrell in the stands, and suddenly Potter's broom righted itself. While everyone was distracted, I scored a few times, but no one noticed.

The snitch was nowhere in sight, and we needed to end the game soon. We still had 60 points, and the Gryffindors still had 20, so we needed to get more points or get the Snitch now. If Potter got the Snitch, Gryffindor would win. Suddenly, Potter sped towards the ground. He put his hand to his mouth, coughed, and out came the Snitch,

"I've got the Snitch!" he yelled, waving it above his head, and the game ended in complete confusion.

Flint yelled, "He didn't catch it, he nearly swallowed it!" He was still howling twenty minutes later, but it made no difference, because Potter hadn't broken any rules. Great. Now we were in fourth place, and the Gryffindors were in second.

**Lilac**

"Please please pretty please!" I begged. Madam Pomfrey sighed.

"You can't even walk," she said.

Well fix it! I can... be levitated?" I said desperately.

She gave up. "All right," she said. "Try standing up." I shakily got to my feet and found that I could walk perfectly fine!

"It's fine," I told her.

She still looked concerned. "Are you sure it doesn't hurt?"

"Positively," I assured her.

"All right," she said uneasily. "You can go -"

I smiled. "Thank you, Madam Pomfrey, thanks so much!"

"-But I need to bandage you up. Otherwise something might slip out of place. Your bones are still fragile and they might break again." She waved her wand, and white ace wraps appeared on my shoulder and hip.

"Thanks!" I said.

"You're welcome," she said, "Now get a move on, the match is about to start." I slowly trodded out of the Hospital Wing.

I made my way to the field and drifted into the Gryffindor section of the stands. I didn't want to be interrogated by all of my house-mates, and most of the Gryffindors probably already knew the story from Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"LILAC!" That's what greeted me as Hermione rushed towards me, but made sure not to hurt me while hugging me. "Oh, Lilac, are you okay?"

"Somewhat," I said. "But can you bring my homework to the hospital wing later? I don't want to fall behind."

"Oh, I totally understand. Sure, I'll bring it after the match. Let's go over there, where Ron is."

"Lilac!" he said. "How are you doing?"

"Better," I said. "Madam Pomfrey mended my bones, but it still feels kind of weird."

"So how will you go to Quidditch practice?" he asked.

Dang it! I hadn't thought about that. "I don't know," I admitted. "I'll think of something."

"Shhh... everyone, the match is starting!" a Gryffindor yelled. Dean Thomas passed Hermione a large banner that said, "Potter for President" with a Gryffindor lion underneath.

"Do you want me to color-charm it?" I asked.

"Sure," Dean said. I made the paint on the words and the drawing flash different colors. Dean gave me an admiring look. I saw Harry cast a look at the sign and attempt to smile. He was really nervous. I really felt like giving him a dose of Felix Felicis, which would make him lucky as well as confident, but that was illegal for games. I smiled back at Harry. I knew he would do great.

"Mount your brooms," Madam Hooch said, after the Captains had shaken hands. She blew her whistle, and they were off. The Gryffindors scored twice. I could make out Penny on the field, she had obviously made the position of Chaser. The other people trying out must have been really bad! She scored a couple of times, and she was actually okay.

"Budge up there, move along."

"Hagrid!" Ron said. They squeezed together and I scooted over so that Hagrid could fit.

"Bin watchin' from me hut," said Hagrid, patting a pair of over-sized binoculars around his neck, "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"

"Nope," said Ron. "Harry hasn't had much to do yet."

Hagrid looked at me. "Trying ta remember yer name... Lotus?"

I looked at him and grinned. "It's a flower, it's purple, and it's a color."

"Lavender?"

"She's my cousin."

"Lilac?"

"There you go!" I laughed.

"What happened ter you?" he asked.

"Troll," I replied.

He nodded. "I got hit by a troll's club once, broke almost all the bones in me body."

"Wow," I said. "I broke a couple of ribs and my arm... I don't know how I'm going to play Quidditch."

"Yer on the team?" he asked. "So who's subbing right now?"

"I'm a beater, but I'm a Ravenclaw," I said. He nodded. I was sure he was about to ask why I was sitting in the Gryffindor stands, but Lee Jordan interrupted.

"Wait a moment - was that the Snitch?" I heard Jordan say, who was commentating. Harry sped towards it, neck in neck with the Slytherin Seeker, Terence Higgs. Suddenly, Marcus Flint slammed into Harry.

"FOUL!" we all screamed.

"Send him off, ref!" Dean yelled. "Red card!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Ron.

"Red card!" Dean replied furiously. "In soccer you get shown the red card and you're out of the game!"

"But this isn't soccer, Dean," Ron reminded him. I grinned.

Lee Jordan was trying not to be biased. "So - after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating - "

"Jordan!" yelled Professor McGonagall, who was watching him.

"I mean, after that open and revolting fowl - "

"Jordan, I'm warning you - "

"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue to play, Gryffindor still in possession."

I was watching Harry closely. Suddenly, his broom lurched and he tensed up, but then it went back to normal. Then, his broom started bucking around. Harry turned towards Wood, clearly trying to ask for a time out, but his broom was completely out of control, zigzagging through the air. People had noticed, and murmurs echoed through the stands. His broom had started to roll over and over, until he was hanging on with one hand. The game had stopped, and Penny scored without anyone noticing. The Weasley twins hovered below Harry, hoping to catch him if he fell.

"Hagrid," I asked. "Can I borrow your binoculars?"

"Sure," he said. "But we can see Harry fine from here."

"It's not Harry," I replied. "Look." I pointed to Quirrell, who had his eyes fixed on Harry and was muttering nonstop under his breath. Snape was doing it too.

"Are they both jinxing him?" Hermione asked.

"Obviously not," I said. "One of them is jinxing, and one of them is counter-jinxing. I'll bet you anything it's Quirrell who's jinxing him. And we know that Snape is onto Quirrell, remember, he was glaring at him in the bathroom. Well...actually, it could be Snape, he really hates Harry..."

"Leave it to me," Hermione said.

"No, Snape actually doesn't hate me. I'll do it," I said. Hermione opened her mouth to protest that Snape didn't hate her, but was cut off by Ron.

"Be careful, Lilac," he said.

"I'll try," I laughed. I picked my way through the crowd to Quirrell. "Professor Quirrell?" I said.

"Oh - M-m-iss S-Starre. A-are you all r-right?" he replied, looking at me, breaking his concentration. I snuck a look at Harry, who was able to climb back onto his broom. I glanced at Snape quickly. He had stopped muttering as well.

"I'm fine, Professor Quirrell. I was just wondering, is the Vampire Essay due on Monday or Tuesday?" I asked.

"W-wednesday," he said.

"Thank you!" I said. On the way back to the stands, I passed Snape, who was now sitting back down. He glanced at me quickly, with a look that was not hate, somehow.

"It was Quirrell," I told them.

"Quirrell!" Hagrid said. "Why would he do that?"

"He let the troll in on Halloween as well," I reminded them.

"He WHAT!" Hagrid said. "No - he's a teacher -"

I didn't have time to answer, because just then, Harry sped towards the ground, coughed, and out came the Snitch. Everyone was very confused as to how it got there. "I've got the Snitch!" he yelled, waving it above his head. The Slytherins protested, but it made no difference, as he hadn't broken any rules.

Later, we were having a cup of tea in Hagrid's hut.

"So, Lilac, you're saying that Quirrell was jinxing me and Snape was trying to... to save me?" asked Harry. He seemed shaken up and was acting a little weird.

"Exactly," I replied. "And it could have been either, but Quirrell was muttering the incantation for a Hurling Hex, and Snape was saying the counter-curse. I heard it, and I've studied all about this. Haven't you read Quidditch Through the Ages?"

"Of course I have," replied Harry. "It's just that Snape, well - he hates me."

"Maybe Quirrell doesn't show it, but he might be worse. It all fits together - he let in that troll, I told you guys that."

"He WHAT!" yelled Hagrid.

"I saw him letting the troll in on Halloween. It makes sense that he would jinx Harry's broom, if you think about it. There may be more to Quirrell than meets the eye.

"But there is still a possibility that it could be Snape," Harry insisted.

"Why would you think that?"

"I found out something about Snape," Harry said to me and Hagrid. He must have already told Ron and Hermione. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to- to steal whatever it's guarding."

Hagrid dropped the teapot. "How do you know about Fluffy?"

"Fluffy!" Hermione said.

"Yeah - he's mine - bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year - I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the - "

"Yes?" said Harry eagerly.

"Now, don't ask me anymore," Hagrid said gruffly. "That's top secret, that is."

"But Snape - or Quirrell - is trying to steal it," I argued.

"Rubbish," said Hagrid. "They are both Hogwarts teachers, and they'd do nothing of the sort."

"So why did one of them just try and kill Harry?" cried Hermione. I agreed with her. I used to think Quirrell was okay, but after this my views had changed.

"I know a jinx when I see one," I said. "You've got to keep eye contact, and neither of them was blinking at all, I saw them."

"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" said Hagrid hotly. "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but neither Snape nor Quirrell would try an' kill a student! now, listen to me, all four of yeh - yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel - "

"Aha!" said Harry, "So there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"

Hagrid looked furious with himself. I couldn't help it. I cracked up.

* * *

So obviously they are going to go into the trapdoor. Should Lilac come? Should Penny come? I am counting on YOUR reviews (my faithful readers) to decide!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Get ready for another prank!

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**Chapter 12: The Snape Prank (+ Lillry/Harlac/IF ANYONE HAS BETTER COUPLE NAMES PLEASE PM OR REVIEW! I MEAN IT!)**

**Penny**

Draco and I were in the Common Room. It was a few days before Christmas break started, and we had both finished our homework. We were hyper because we had been eating sugar, and neither of us could go to sleep, even though it was almost midnight.

"I'm BORED." I was sprawled on a couch opposite Draco.

"Really, Penny? I didn't realize," Draco said dryly, staring at the table, aimlessly turning a quill in his hands. I snorted, letting an arm drape over my green eyes. Several minutes passed. Crabbe and Goyle started making balls of parchment to flick at each other. Draco hunched lower over his quill, and I sank further into the couch. The Common Room became quieter and quieter as people went to their dormitories.

"I wonder if Snape ever washes his hair," I said dreamily, my eyes closed. Draco raised one eyebrow, but kept twirling the quill. "It's just so… greasy. I wonder if he greases it, or slicks it back or something." I giggled.

"Penny!" Draco shouted, chucking his quill at me, which just made me giggle more. "Why are you thinking about Snape so much?"

"Don't get so annoyed, Draco, dear," I said in a falsetto, throwing the quill on the floor. "I'm just bored is all. Can't I do a little thinking?"

"Oh, just shut it about Snape. Can't we talk about something else?" Draco snapped, running a hand through his perfectly gelled hair. I followed the movement, and suddenly I had a brilliant idea.

"That's it!" I sat up, swinging my legs over the couch and resting my arms on my knees, my green eyes glittering with excitement. "Hair. Snape's hair. Let's prank him." I laughed evilly.

"You want to prank the Head of our House? Penny, are you suicidal as well as completely stupid?" Draco asked, Summoning his quill back and throwing it into his bag.

"Oh, come on. Don't be such a girl," I said, rolling my eyes.

"You know, you're basically insulting yourself."

"I don't care." I had that gleam in my eyes - everyone knew what this meant. I was plotting an evil scheme. And when I plotted, I plotted. "I know a few spells for hair care..." I muttered. "I'll need a straightening spell and a spell to get rid of grease."

"Great. We're pranking Snape's hair," Draco said.

"Listen, I'm bored, you're bored, everyone is bored. I just thought of the best prank ever, but I need your help!" I explained.

"All right," he said, admitting defeat. "What do we have to do?"

"Simple. It's late. Snape is probably asleep. If not, we'll wait for him to fall asleep. Then, I'll get the grease out of his hair and straighten it." I got up. "Coming, Drakey?" I mocked.

He got to his feet with a scowl, his face pink (cute!) "Don't call me Drakey." I laughed. We walked through winding passageways, hidden doors, and lots of staircases until we reached Snape's room. The door was open just a crack, so I pushed it open cautiously.

Snape was lying, fast asleep, snoring, in an armchair in front of his desk. Papers to grade were scattered all over his lap and the desk. I stifled a giggle in anticipation of what was about to happen.

"_Aufere Arvina, Recto Corrigo_," I whispered, pointing my wand at Snape's hair. Draco's eyes widened, and I smirked. Snape's hair now hung perfectly straight around his shoulders, a healthy sheen to it. The thick greasy strands were gone. It made him look almost presentable. Biting back a laugh, I tiptoed out the door, and Draco followed, leaving it exactly as it was when we had come in.

Once safe in the Common Room, we both burst out laughing.

"Shoot. We have Potions tomorrow," Draco forced out, breathless from laughing, starting a whole new round of laughter.

Professor Snape was not at breakfast the next morning.

I chuckled. "This is excellent. I bet he's trying to grease it down."

"I think he's staring into the mirror saying, 'Merlin's beard, what happened?'" Draco said. I laughed again.

"Maybe he - " I gasped. "Maybe he thinks he looks better that way!" I couldn't stop laughing.

"What's so funny?" Marcus Flint asked from across the table.

"Do you have Potions today?" I asked, making Draco burst out laughing again.

"Yeah. So?" Marcus demanded.

"You'll see," Draco supplied, considering I couldn't talk anymore, I was laughing so hard. "You'll see." he cracked up.

Trying to keep straight faces, we walked into Potions after Herbology. We sneered at the Gryffindors, as usual, but once at our seats, we tried not to give ourselves away by laughing. I had to cover my mouth with my Potions book several times while I silently laughed. Draco was doing the same. We were getting funny looks from the other students in the room. "Shut up, he's coming," Draco whispered, hiding a smile. People stared at him, because Draco Malfoy usually didn't smile. Or laugh. He looked better that way.

After another moment of listening to Snape's footsteps get closer, we tried to act normal. Draco started doodling, the little dimple in his cheek still showing, and I primped my hair and stuck my nose into my book, silently giggling. The Gryffindors stared.

The door swung open, and after a moment, there was a collective gasp from everyone in the room. Immediately following, giggles started up, and a few wolf-whistles echoed around the dungeon. I looked up, feeling a laugh attack coming. His hair hadn't changed at all from last night- it was stick straight and non-greasy. "Oh my gosh," I whispered, collapsing into a silent fit of laughter.

"Settle down," Snape said acidly, walking over to his desk like he had a broom up his pants. All of the Gryffindor's mouths were open, staring at him.

"Who shampoo-ified Snape?" someone asked loudly (I think it was Weasley), making the class burst into laughter and applause. Even though that phrase was coming from a Gryffindor, it didn't seem to matter at that point. The joke wasn't on anyone but Snape.

"Quiet!" Snape hissed, but only after a few minutes did the class calm down. "Whoever said that is lucky that I did not see them. If anyone has another remark to make, you'll all be in detention." Snape bared his teeth, he was so mad, making me laugh even harder, still silently, of course, but harder none the less.  
I looked over at the Gryffindors. I spied Potter; he was trying very hard not to laugh, and wow, even Granger was hiding her face behind her book. Most of the other students were looking into a book or had an arm over their face - muffling their laughter. "Hey, Penny," Draco whispered, tapping my shoulder. "I'm never doubting you again."

"Good, because if we're bored tonight…" I started, and we shared evil grins. Snape glared.

**Lilac**

Charms was really fun that week.

Professor Flitwick said, "Today, we are practicing the Summoning Charm. Everyone say, "Accio!"

It was pronounced 'a-kee-o'.

"Now," he said. "Try and summon a pillow from over there," he said, pointing to a pile of cushions on the floor.

"Accio cushion!" I said, and a pillow flew into my lap.

"Good job, Miss Starre, 5 points to Ravenclaw!" We moved on to Summoning heavier and heavier things, and (as usual) I got the furthest, at rocks.

Potions was hilarious. Someone must have pranked Snape, because we walked in and a few people were whispering about his hair. I had no idea what they were talking about. That was when Snape walked in.

A collective gasp echoed around the room. I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing. Snape's hair looked healthy, shiny, not greasy, and perfectly straight.

"Settle down," he said. He had probably been through this a few times. It took several minutes to get the class back to normal. Someone whistled, and he glared at us. My face was red from laughing. I hid behind my book.

Later, I sent a note to Penny with my owl saying, "Did you prank Snape? -Lilac"

She replied almost immediately with a note that just said, "What do you think, Captain Obvious?" Yup, she definitely did it. Sometimes I wish I had that much fun, but Hermione wasn't really one for pranks, and all of the Ravenclaws were goody-goodies. Over the years, some of Penny had definitely rubbed off on me.

One Saturday, I woke up and looked out the window to see white, white, and more white. It was snowing! The ground was covered in snow, the windows were frosted, and the lake was frozen over. After breakfast, where I didn't see Harry, Ron, or Hermione, I walked over to Gryffindor Tower.

"Did Harry, Ron, and Hermione leave, or are they still in there?" I asked the Fat Lady.

"I think they're still there, dearie, but you need the password," she said.

"Great," I muttered. "Would you mind opening a peephole?" I asked her. I didn't know if she had peepholes. Either I got a peephole, or I felt stupid.

"Of course not, dear," she said, and slid open a little hole in the corner of the portrait. I was never wrong *smirk*. I put my eye up to it.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were bent over at a table, books scattered all over it, their laps, and the floor. "Harry!" I yelled.

"Huh?" he looked up and saw my purple eye. "Oh, it's you, Lilac. You don't know the password, do you?"

"I would already be inside if I knew it, stupid," I said.

"Oh, yeah! It's 'Canis Spiritus'," he said.

"Thanks," I said to him. "Canis Spiritus," I told the Fat Lady.

"It helps to have friends in Gryffindor," she said, chuckling, as she swung open.

"Did you know that 'Canis Spiritus' means 'dog breath' in Latin?" Hermione said as I walked in.

"Of course," I replied. "So... what are you guys doing?"

"Trying to find out who Nicolas Flamel is," Hermione said.

"I should have guessed. But I think I know where to find him."

"Where?" Harry asked. He looked a little pale and nervous.

"I have this book at home called Magical Discoveries Since 100 B.C. I think I've seen his name, and even if I haven't, he's bound to be in there somewhere. The problem is, I've already checked the library, and it's not there." They all looked sad. "I can write to my mom and ask her to send it," I offered. Hermione's eyes lit up, but then she furrowed her eyebrows.

"Good idea. But by then, it might be too late..." Ron said ominously. I cracked up.

**Penny**

_12-14-91_

_Dear Diary,_

_Today Lilac sent me a note saying, "Did you prank Snape?" I replied by saying, "What do you think, Captain Obvious?" And I can't help thinking about it. Should I have replied? From the way I've been acting, I don't think she really expected a reply. She really seems to want to be friends with me again, even though I don't act like I want to be friends with her. When she sent that note, I kind of forgot that I was supposed to hate her. It was like - like we were friends again. Pranking other people together... like our neighbors. She never really enjoyed that... or maybe she did, and maybe she wanted to do pranks with me again. I guess we could be friends again._

_I mean, that's not necessarily how I want it to be. That wouldn't be my perfect life. I really have a crush on Draco (I think he knows that) so I can't just ignore him. But Lilac just doesn't seem to like him much. Maybe because he acts mean to everyone else, when on the inside he's really sweet and funny and has the cutest smile and... and..._

_Well, I'm getting carried away here. I guess I do want to be friends with Lilac again, it's just that I can't find a way to make up to her what I've done these past 4 months. I can't exactly just start ignoring my Slytherin friends and hang out with her all the time, and her gitty friends, too._

_I don't think any of this would have happened if she hadn't gone off with Granger on the train to Hogwarts. That's really when it all started, and she didn't seem to show any signs of friendship when she met Potter and Weasley. I guess she became friends with them through Granger?_

_I've been thinking about Potter. I wonder if he likes anyone. I always thought he would like Lilac. For some reason, they seem to go well together. Also, maybe I should start calling him Harry. I mean, poor guy. He's been through a lot. The least I can do is NOT be mean to him, if I'm not going to be totally nice._

_The other thing I've been thinking about a lot is my Quirrell theory. I think that he let the troll in, because maybe he's hiding something, like a lot of other people in the world. Maybe he's a really good actor, and he's good at fake stuttering. I don't think it was Snape. Snape is mean, and he was a Death Eater, but Dumbledore trusts him enough to have hired him for a really long time. My parents said that he was one of the Dark Lord's most loyal followers, but maybe the Dark Lord was mistaken. Maybe he was a spy for Dumbledore or something. ...No, the Dark Lord would have found out and killed him. Anyways, whatever Snape is, I don't think it was Snape._

_So those are my thoughts for today. It felt good to get it all down on paper; my friendship with Lilac, Draco, Potter - I mean, Harry, and Quirrell and Snape. Maybe I'll find a solution for all of these problems tomorrow._

_-Stormy_

**Lilac**

"Lilac? Can I talk to you for a minute?" Harry passed me in the hall and I walked over to the corner with him.

I stared at him. He was still pale and seemed nervous. I sighed. "Let me guess. Girl trouble."

His mouth opened. "How did you - "

"I know everything. Now, who is it? Hermione?"

"Umm... well..."

"Hurry up, I'm going to be late for class," I said, glancing at my (purple) watch.

"We're both going to be late, we have Transfiguration next together," he said.

"Don't change the subject. Who's the girl?" I said impatiently. Boys were so weird. Couldn't he just tell me? Not like I would care.

Okay, maybe I would. Not the point.

"Umm..."

Gosh, boys could be so annoying at times. I started ticking off the first year girls. "Lavender?"

"No."

"Parvati?"

"No."

It wasn't any of the Gryffindor girls. Next, Ravenclaw.

"Padma?"

"No."

"Ugh, who is it! Lisa?"

"No."

"Marietta?"

"No."

"Cho?"

"No."

"Me?"

He didn't answer. Well, at least he wasn't having a nervous breakdown, and he had the guts to talk to me, so I decided to make this as un-awkward as possible. "We'll talk later. We're going to be late to Transfiguration!" I swallowed my... whatever I was feeling at the time, grabbed his arm and bolted, dragging him behind me.

Turns out we weren't late for Transfiguration. Go figure. I mean, go transfigure.

* * *

Review. Pretty please with like, 6 billion cherries.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

_I'm still waiting for those Lilac/Harry couple names!_

_WRITER'S BLOCK! ARRRRRRRGH!_

* * *

**Chapter 13: Jokes**

**Penny**

Sadly, it became "tomorrow" and I didn't find a solution to any of those problems. Friday night, Draco was sitting in a chair doing nothing. "Christmas break starts tomorrow!" he said.

"I know," I snapped back, looking up from my book. He knew better than to interrupt when I was reading.

"Do you want to hear a joke?" he asked.

I sighed and closed the book. "Fine."

"In Hogwarts, there's a magical mirror that will eat anyone who tells a lie. A Ravenclaw goes up to the mirror and says, 'I think I'm not smart.' CHOMP! And the mirror eats them. A Slytherin faces the mirror and says, 'I think I'm not evil.' CHOMP! And the mirror eats them. A Gryffindor faces the mirror and says, 'I think…' CHOMP! And the mirror eats them."

I laughed. "Okay, that's pretty funny.

"I know," he said silkily, stroking an imaginary goatee, "I am funny, am I not?" He raised an eyebrow and I smiled.

"Hmm," I replied. I was thinking about how he was funny, but no one else got it. How he seemed so mean to everyone else except us Slytherins, and nobody knew the real side of him. I don't think he even wanted anyone to know the side of him that he showed me.

"You want another joke?" he said.

"Sure."

"What do you call a polite, well-dressed, and humble man at a Slytherin homecoming party?"

"Hmm..." I said. "I don't know. I really don't think anyone in Slytherin is polite or humble."

"The waiter," he said, and we collapsed into a fit of giggles. Gosh, he looked really cute when he laughed (un-evilly). *sigh*

"Is tonight joke night or something?" I asked.

"Yup," he said. "I have a whole book right here. _Accio_ Book! The Ravenclaw ones are the best." I started reading.

_How many Ravenclaws does it take to light a wand?_  
_-Why use a wand when they already created a new quantum-theory for wandless magic?_  
_-Twenty-two Ravnclaws: five running around the library to find the quickest, most effective manner. Seven to practice the spell to make sure that it's safe and it works. Three to inform the professors of what they're doing so they can get the credit. Four to contemplate over whose wand has the best core material for performing this spell. One to stand by with a fire extinguisher just in case. One to actually light the wand and one more to point out how I spelled "Ravenclaw" wrong..._  
_-Who has time for silly things like lighting wands when there are only 6 months until finals?_  
_-The whole house to study on various ways to do the task, then one Ravenclaw to do the actual lighting._  
_-One - unless you count books as people, in that case, 23. (What? s/he had to make sure she did it absolutely perfectly, even though she won't get any credit for it, because nothing interesting ever happens to Ravenclaws)_  
_-No idea. What? A Ravenclaw without an idea? The Underworld must have frozen over!_  
_-Only one. But then she'll take the wand and start doing all sorts of 7th year stuff with it... *cough* Starre *cough*_  
_-None, learned that one in babyhood and wouldn't dream of wasting time on such a juvenile spell. Why would you light a wand if you could be studying instead?_

The jokes made me think about Lilac (especially the one that said *cough* Starre *cough*). These described her exactly - except for the part about nothing interesting happening to Ravenclaws. Everything seemed to happen to Lilac. She fought the troll, she won the duel, she was friends with a "celebrity", and all the teachers liked her. Plus, she probably knew all about whatever Snape had said with the three heads.

"Do you have any Slytherin ones?" I asked.

"Well, I tried not to down our reputation too much with this," he said, smiling. "Page 8."

I flipped to page 8.

_How many Slytherins does it take to light a wand?_

"More wand jokes, Draco? These are getting old," I said. He just grinned.

-_Just one really, *cough* Draco *cough* but he has to be accompanied by two thugs *cough* *cough* Crabbe and Goyle *cough* *cough* and a pretty girl *cough* Penny *cough*. He also has to show it off to the Gryffindors who would bravely beat him to a pulp before they have one of their own members, probably Granger, light it and get the credit while Weasley and Potter get detention from Snape, who gets mad because he thinks they straightened his hair._

"Aww..." I said. He had gone red. "Did Snape really blame Ha - Potter and Weasley?" I didn't care. A PRETTY GIRL! He thought I was PRETTY! :DDD

He didn't seem to notice that I had almost said Harry. "Well, 'sadly' they didn't get detention, but I think Snape suspects them," he replied. I read the rest.

_-Two, one to light it and one to blame the Gryffindors in case it doesn't work._  
_-Two: one student to light it and one Head of House to give them absurd amounts of points for it._  
_-Five: One to complain about how his father would be very upset about having him do such menial tasks *cough cough* Draco *cough*, two to look menacing *cough* Crabbe and Goyle *cough* one to sneer at the Gryffindors *cough* Penny *cough* and one head of house to give the Slytherins extra points for doing it so perfectly._  
_-Six. One to steal it, one to light it, one to gloat over it, and three to look impressive._  
_-Why light a wand when you can set a Gryffindor's robes on fire?_  
_-None. They just get Snape to give them credit and a bunch of house points for it._  
_-Two, one to do the lighting and another to laugh at Longbottom just out of spite._  
_-None. Why learn Lumos when you could learn Crucio?_  
_-Three, one do do the lighting and a couple of toadies to congratulate him. *cough* Malfoy Crabbe and Goyle *cough*_  
_-Doesn't matter. However well they do, Dumbledore will find some excuse to give the glory to the Gryffindors instead._  
_Eight: 1 to use dark magic to light it, 2 to hurl insults at passing Gryffindors, and 5 to stand around and conceal the evil doings._  
_-One, but then he gets in trouble with his father because Granger did it better. *cough* Draco *cough*_  
_-Three; one to do the actual spell and two to look and stand around looking menacing in case any Gryffindors come along..._  
_-None, since Draco's dad bought them all automatic-lighting wands. :)_

"This is crazy," I sighed. "You're basically dissing all of us Slytherins in this. The sad thing is that it's all true."

"I cannot tell a lie," he said. I laughed so hard, I thought my ribs would crack, while he just stared.

"So if someone asks you what you - were up to," I gasped, "You can- say - that you were insulting other - houses and d-dissing yourself."

He grinned. "Exactly."

**Lilac**

"It's Christmas and there is NO HOMEWORK!" I said. I ended up staying at school, since Penny was heading home.

"You're not sad about that?" Ron asked skeptically.

"What, just because I'm a Ravenclaw means I have to be a die-hard homework fan?"

He didn't answer. We went outside, where the ground was covered in snow. "What do want to do?" I asked Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Ron looked at Quirrell. "What?"

"Watch and learn," he said mysteriously. I giggled. He had called Fred and George over. This meant trouble.

"What?" one of them asked crankily. "We were just about to investigate another one of those secret passageways - " Then he saw Ron holding up a few snowballs and looking at Quirrell. "Oh..."

They tried to bewitch the snowballs, but all of them were failing so hopelessly that I couldn't resist. I did it for them. The snowballs now followed Quirrell everywhere, bouncing off the back of his purple turban. I blew a puff of air over the tip of my wand dramatically, proud of my work. We ran away in a fit of giggles.

"Are you a Ravenclaw?" one of the twins asked.

"Duh." I pointed to myself and said, "Nerd. Lilac Starre. Nice to meet you too."

"I'm Fred," one twin said.

"and I'm George," the other said.

I tried to use my photographic memory to remember which was which, but I knew it was hopeless. Maybe once I got to know them better, it would be easier.

I wrote a random note to Penny. Hopefully Malfoy wasn't around when she opened it, because all it said was, "Do you like Draco Malfoy?"

She replied quickly. "Duh. I thought you were smarter!" Wow. Well, good to know.

I was thinking about my own "love life." Whenever the word "love" came into my head, I thought about Harry. I was definitely starting to like him as a little more than a friend. :) (and he liked me back! Hopefully!)

But we had other things to worry about besides love. Penny was going home for the Christmas holidays, so I stayed at school with Harry and Ron (Hermione went home) to search for Nicolas Flamel in the library books. So that's how we ended up at a table in the Gryffindor Common Room, books scattered all over the desks, reading, when we didn't even have to study.

"Do you think he's famous?" Ron asked.

"Obviously," I replied. "Otherwise whatever he's working with Dumbledore on wouldn't be so important."

We took breaks often to play wizard chess and exploding snap. "How do you do it, Lilac?" Ron complained, after I had won my 11th game in a row.

I pointed to myself. "Ravenclaw."

"Right..."

Then it was Christmas Eve, and we still hadn't found Nicolas Flamel. I was still waiting for whoever had checked the book out to return it.

**Penny**

I went home for the Christmas Holidays, along with my brothers. I figured I would have a good time visiting home (away from Lilac), and Draco invited me to come visit his mansion. "You live in a mansion?" I had asked, incredulously.

"Well, I am rich," he had said in a hilarious haughty voice, with a completely exaggerated stereotypical-British-rich-person accent.

I had fun with Draco, Leo, and Raphael that winter. It was really cold, but we wanted to play Quidditch, so we wrapped ourselves up until we all looked like puffy marshmallows, had a very snowy game of Quidditch, and then had the most awesome snowball fight ever! Our faces were red as we tromped back into my house. We took off our many layers and sat on the couch, sipping butterbeer. It was Christmas Eve.

"So," I said.

"So," Draco said.

"So," Leo said. We all looked at Raphael, who had been silent. A minute passed and we continued to stare.

"I'm not saying 'so!'" Raphael said.

We stared. "I didn't say you had to," I replied.

"Whatever," he said. I laughed, and I must have freaked him out, because he said, "Whoa there, Penny."

"What?"

"That laugh was creepy."

I laughed again. "Like that?"

"Yeah."

"I know. It's creepy. Get used to it."

Draco laughed. "So what did you want to say, Penny?"

"We're missing the Christmas Ball," I said. "That's why so many people stayed at school."

"We're WHAT!" asked Draco.

"There's a ball on Christmas," I said.

Suddenly Draco looked thoughtful. I wondered what he was thinking about (hint hint: I could've asked Penny!) "So do you think Potter will go with your friend Starre?"

I thought about it. A teeny tiny lump formed in my throat at the thought of Lilac. "I don't know. One thing is for sure; all the Gryffindors will get dates, because they've all got guts to ask the girls out." Draco and I laughed.

"Hey!" Raphael protested.

We looked at him. "Sorry," Draco said, not seeming at all sorry, making me erupt into giggles again. "Now answer my question, Penny."

"Hmm... well, she'll go if he asks her. She's not the kind of person to turn down a boy. And she's also erm... kind of a blood traitor... as in, she doesn't really care about who's got which blood status."

"Wait..." he said. "She's pure-blood?"

"Didn't I just say that?" I snapped. "Why do you think I would be friends with her otherwise?"

"True," he mused. Then he sighed. Again, I hoped he was thinking, _I wish we were at school so that I could ask Penny to the dance._ Maybe that thought was there, in the very very back of his mind.

Or maybe not.

* * *

Review. Pleeeeeeeeeease :) With cherries, sprinkles, chocolate sauce, oreos...


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

_Question: What do you think will happen when they go in the trapdoor? Will Lilac come with them? I haven't written that part yet, so whoever gives the best ideas, I will put their ideas into the story! REVIEW! (please)_

* * *

**Chapter 14 : Christmas**

**Lilac**

I didn't go home for Christmas, because Penny was going. A lot of people stayed for Christmas this year, and I didn't know why, but I was mainly hanging out with Harry and Ron, as Hermione had gone home as well, after making us promise that we would keep looking for Flamel in the library.

We spent many days by the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room (I hope I was allowed to be in there, but I hadn't been caught yet) roasting marshmallows and plotting ways to get Malfoy expelled, which was fun. The boys kept telling me that all of my plans would work because I was a super genius. Very true. We should've tried them.

We also played lots of wizard chess, in which I kicked the boys' … never mind. Ron was so much better than Harry, but he still lost against me every time. After they got fed up of losing every time, we went to see the Great Hall.

It looked amazing. 11 sparkling Christmas trees lined the walls, and Hagrid was carrying the last one in. Holly and mistletoe hung in bunches from the ceiling. The trees glittered with all sorts of things - live fairies, tiny icicles, thousands of candles, and sparkling purple bubbles. It was beautiful and breathtaking.

On Christmas Eve, Professor Flitwick told us that there would be a dance the next day to celebrate Christmas in the Great Hall. So that explained the many people staying over the holidays! He also said that first years couldn't go to the "big dance" unless they'd been invited by an older student, so we would have our own miniature dance in the East Tower. I couldn't wait for the dance. I asked my mom to send all of my best dresses, because Professor Flitwick said we could wear dress robes or muggle dresses. We should have gotten more notice about this!

There was another problem - getting someone to go with me. That little nagging instinct in the back of my head told me to ask Harry, but I didn't think I had the guts. That's what Gryffindors were for :)

The boys walked past me later that day, and I tiptoed behind them, listening to snippets of their conversation -

"I think I'll ask Lilac - " That was Harry. YESSSSS! I felt a twinge of guilt for listening in.

"Well, then who am I going to go with?"

"I dunno, find someone. Go with Lavender."

"Ew, no!" At least he had some common sense.

"Parvati?" Harry suggested.

Ron sighed. "I wish Hermione were here." Harry chuckled.

I decided this was the time to reveal myself. I ran into the library, which we were conveniently passing. "Hi, guys!" I said brightly, stepping out into the hall.

"Oh, hi Lilac..." said Harry, blushing. He was probably wondering whether I had heard their conversation. Great. Now I felt really guilty.

"I was just looking for Nicolas Flamel, but I think I'm going to take a break for today and tomorrow."

Ron looked relieved. "Good idea!" Then he elbowed Harry and whispered something that I couldn't make out.

"Wha - " Harry started, then, "Ohhh!" He looked at me. "Um... Lilac?"

"Yes?"

"Um... Willyougotothedancewithme?"

I didn't really understand what he said, but at the same time I knew what he had asked. I smiled. "Okay."

His face brightened. "Really?"

I nodded. He smiled. Most awkward moment of my life.

"Now we just need to find someone for me to go with..." Ron said.

"Marietta's sweet on you," I blurted out, then covered my mouth. "Shoot! I wasn't supposed to tell anyone," I half-whispered.

"Really?" Ron asked.

"Yeah. She'd be real happy if you asked her," I said, feeling like a betrayer.

"Cool!" He ran over to the Ravenclaw common room.

"I better go," I muttered to Harry. "He won't be able to figure out the riddle without me..." Harry laughed.

I hurried upstairs to the common room. "Lilac! What the heck does this mean?"

"What happens when you throw a yellow rock into a purple stream?" sang the phoenix.

"Wow, Ron. You couldn't get that one?" I said.

"Aw, can't you just do it for me?"

"I want you to try it," I insisted. "It's one of the easiest ones ever."

"Um... well yellow might be sulfur? So... it bubbles... But if it's a purple stream..."

He puzzled over it for a few minutes while the phoenix cooed assorted things like, "No! Nope! Not at all! Not even close!" and I tapped my toe on the ground. Ron looked at me helplessly.

I sighed and spoke to the phoenix "It makes a splash. Duh."

"Nicely phrased," said the phoenix and the door opened.

Ron had his mouth open, probably silently chiding himself for being so stupid. We walked in.

Suddenly, I was bombarded by the 5 boys from my year. All five of them. "Lilac! Go to the dance with me?"

"No, go with me!"

"No, me!"

I was flattered, but I said, "Sorry, guys, I'm going with Harry." There was a long awkward silence.

"Oh," Terry Boot finally said. They all walked away dejectedly, leaving me and Ron standing in the middle of the circular room. "Ask Cho...?" I suggested weakly.

"Wow," said Ron.

"That just about sums it up," I replied, gesturing to the boys' dorm.

"No, I mean this place."

"Oh!" I realized he had never seen our Common Room before, so I gave him a tour. "...and this here is bookshelf number 143, and here's number 144... Anyways, I'll go get Marietta." I stepped onto a glowing blue disk and was automatically transported up to the dorm. We had put that there instead of the stairs because we had to walk up 6 flights of spiral staircases to get to our dorm. So we put our super brains to work and came up with a transportation device. As I flew upwards, I saw Ron's mouth hanging open.

I put in the code at the top of the stairs. It was a number combination that spelled out "Smile" (this week at least) so the code was "76453".

"Marietta!" I sang.

"Oh, hi Lilac," she said, looking up from her trunk, which she was digging through energetically, looking for dresses.

"Um..." I realized I hadn't planned this conversation. "Ron Weasley's... uh... waiting for you downstairs. He... um, wants to ask you to the dance. Just don't tell him I said that."

She turned red. "Oh, he does?" she squealed. Then she put on a straight face and went back downstairs with me. Her face became tinged with pink again when she saw Ron.

"Oh, um... Marietta, will you come to the dance with me?" he said quickly.

"YES!" she squeaked.

"Yay," he said dryly.

"Okay, bye guys!" Marietta said.

"Bye!" We walked out of the room. "She's not usually like that," I told Ron. "You can tell she likes you."

"Yeah," he said uncomfortably.

We told Harry what had happened after we met up with him in the Gryffindor Common Room. He just said, "Uh... Let's go to dinner." Boys could be so awkward at times. Couldn't they just act NORMAL around girls!?

I went to bed, looking forward to presents, food, and fun the next day.

**Penny**

I got a letter from Lilac the next day, which was Christmas Eve.

_Hey Stormy,_  
_Harry asked me to the dance! How are your holidays going? Hanging out with Draco? ;)_  
_Even though we may not still be good friends, it feels weird not to send you a Christmas Present. So expect one from me tomorrow morning :)_  
_-Starre_

I responded with:  
_Hey Starre,_  
_Nice. Draco actually asked me that earlier today. Like, if Harry would go with you... and I said yes. So yay! I can predict the future. I am hanging out with Draco; in fact, we're having Christmas Dinner with the Malfoys. :) I guess now that you're sending me one, I have to send you a Christmas Present as well... So expect that, too._  
_-Stormy_

I woke up in my room at about 10 in the morning to see two giant green eyes, like tennis balls, staring at me, glowing in the dim light of my room (the windows were closed).. "WHAT THE - " I started, then realized who it was. "Oh, hi Dobby." Dobby was the Malfoys' house elf, and luckily I had already met him, otherwise I might have killed him due to my half-asleep reflexes.

"Dobby has come to give Mistress her Christmas Present from Master Draco," he said, and handed me a small parcel wrapped in green, shiny paper, with a note attached.

I yawned. "At this hour in the morning?"

Dobby smiled. "Master Draco also says 'Wake up, Penny!'"

Thanks, Dobby," I said and yawned again. I took the present.

"Goodbye, Mistress," he said, and Disapparated with a Crack!

I looked at the note first.

Dear Penny,  
_I don't usually write 'dear', so consider yourself lucky. Happy Christmas! Enclosed is your Christmas present. I hope you enjoy it!_  
_Lov- Sincerely,_  
_Draco Malfoy_

I realized that he had almost written 'love'. How sweet! I felt the present. It seemed to be a small box with holes in it. I tore off the paper wrapping, and it was exactly what I had guessed. A box with holes in it. Now I could guess that something living was inside, because those looked like breathing holes. I slowly lifted off the top.

Wow! Inside was a tiny snake, the size of an inchworm, and it was silver with green diamonds along its back. "You're beautiful," I breathed. I stroked him carefully, and he wriggled onto my finger and wrapped around it, like a ring. Also, the box contained some snake food and a mini bed for him to sleep in. He was so cute!

My next present, from my parents, contained a large box of candy, including chocolate frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, and Lemon Drops (I love those!) I tried some of everything. Sugar high! I jumped on the bed for a few minutes to settle myself down. At least I was awake now.

I got a book from Leo (no surprise, as he's a Ravenclaw) about Quidditch, and Raphael gave me my very own dagger, with a note that said "Use it well." Wow! And it was pure silver, engraved with my name. He was just asking for trouble.

From my various aunts and uncles, I got clothes, jewelry, and candy. The last present I opened was Lilac's.

It was wrapped in green and black paper, with silver snakes on it that she had charmed to slither around. I felt it. It was hard, but too large to be a book (like she usually sent me), and very heavy. Holding my breath, I opened the wrapping.

Shining up at me was a brand new Broomstick Servicing Kit! Wow! It was in a black leather case with silver lettering, and inside were High-Finish Handle Polish, a Tail-Twig Clipper, a Clip-On Compass, and a handbook on do-it-yourself broomcare. I got out my broomstick and started working on it right away, while eating chocolate frogs. Now I knew that I had sent her the right present. They were definitely equal.

We had Christmas Dinner at Malfoy Manor. The place was beautiful. I walked in through a gigantic driveway lined with pine trees, sparkling with icicles, until I came to a huge mahogany door and stepped into the foyer. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, glittering with thousands of lights, and the floor was pure white marble. The dining area was huge (like everything else) with a table that could seat 50 (there used to be Death Eater meetings here). We all bunched together on one side of the table and sat down.

Dobby was really cute (when he wasn't freaking me out with his giant eyes), plus he was an amazing cook. We had five courses, plus dessert, and then had another snowball fight, me and Draco against my brothers (in which we won, but I suspect it was because we charmed our snowballs to never miss). Then we had a light supper, too full to eat anything else. We Flooed home. All in all, it was a great Christmas. I would have another week at home before going back to school.

**Lilac**

I got a reply from Penny. Why would Draco want to know who I went to the ball with? What a weird question.

When I woke up, no one was in my dormitory. At first, I thought it was a joke, but then I checked the time and realized that it was already ten! I yawned and took a look at my presents.

There was a green one (obviously from Penny) that looked square. A purple one from my sister, a small box of something from my parents, and various other ones that were probably from my friends. Since I had no friends to open them with, I got dressed, picked up my gifts, and headed over to the Gryffindor Common Room, hoping that the boys were still there.

I arrived at the portrait hole and realized that I didn't know the password. "Okay," I muttered. "Um... they're usually Latin..."

"That's right, dearie!" the Fat Lady said happily. "Merry Christmas!"

"Um... Happy Christmas? Felix Nativitatis?" I said.

"You're a Ravenclaw, right?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied unsurely.

"Well, you're very smart!" she said as she swung open. "And I should change the password," she chuckled.

"I get that a lot..." I murmured, grinning. I made my way up to the Boys' Dormitory. Harry and Ron were just waking up. I sat down in the middle of the room. The other boys had already left.

Suddenly Harry sat bolt upright in bed. "Lilac!" he yelled, trying to hide himself with his blanket. He scrambled to put on his clothes.

I backed up and covered my eyes. "Sorry, didn't mean to spook you. Um, Merry Christmas?"

"Merry Christmas to you too," said Ron, rubbing his eyes, "...but why are you here?"

"My friends all went to breakfast. It's already noon."

Ron looked at the floor and yelled, "Presents!" He dragged Harry out of bed, who was staring at his presents like he had never seen presents before. Though, I reminded myself, he probably didn't get many presents from the Dursleys.

"I brought mine, too," I said. I started opening mine. First, I opened the one from my parents. It was a miniature case that could fit as many books as I wanted, but it would never get full (it probably had an Extension Charm on it) and it would stay as light as air. I loved it!

Next, I opened the present from Violet. It was a box full of different small weapons to place at the end of my braid. Useful. A note that came with it said, "One of my 7th year friends told me about that amethyst lilac that you put in your hair, so I thought you would need some more. Love, Violet" Everything was purple, and there were ten attachments in all; a ninja star, a metal ball, a mini bludger and bat, some birds, some flowers, and some other painful-looking metal things. Pretty awesome. The boys were eating candy, and Harry blew on a flute, which I thought sounded like Sapphire (my owl, if you don't remember).

Something told me to open Penny's present last, so instead I opened Hermione's. Inside was a book (no surprise) called Powers You Never Knew You Had and What to Do With Them Now You Have Wised Up. A note attached said,  
_"Dear Lilac,_  
_I know you've always been wise, but I thought you would enjoy this book. Learn lots of new spells!_  
_Love,_  
_Hermione"_

I opened it and immediately started learning new spells. It was very interesting, and it also stated in which year we would learn each spell at Hogwarts. The only ones I didn't know already were the some of the 5th, 6th, and 7th year spells.

I looked at the boys. Harry was holding up a green sweater and eating fudge, and Ron was complaining about his maroon sweater. "Lilac, you probably have one, too," Ron said,

"A sweater?"

"Yeah, my mum knits them every Christmas, she probably sent one to all of my friends... There it is," he said, pointing to a lumpy parcel. Inside was the softest purple sweater I had ever felt, with a white flower on the front, plus some homemade cake. It was chocolate, my favorite. Yum! I put on the sweater and immediately felt nice and toasty.

Harry had given Ron and I each a fifty-pence piece. Ron was utterly fascinated. "Weird! What a shape! This is money?"

"You really don't know much about the Muggle world, do you?" I asked.

"Exactly," Ron replied.

"What about you, Lilac? You're a pure-blood, aren't you?" Harry asked. I muttered something back about not being stupid and being a blood-traitor and continued sorting through my presents.

Finally, it was time to open Penny's present. It was heavy and felt like a box. The weight was unbalanced, and I could swear something was moving inside. I took of the wrapping.

Inside was... a box. With holes in it. I took of the lid and something jumped onto my face. It was fuzzy. Spitting out fur, I wrenched the thing away from me. Instantly, I felt guilty at being mad at it. It was a kitten, so small I could hold it in one hand, and... it was PURPLE! A beautiful lilac color, with bright blue eyes, sleek, straight fur, mixed with a little bit of white, and a tufted tail. She was beautiful! I cuddled her for a while before I noticed that Harry was gone.

"Where is he?" I asked Ron.

"He got an invisibility cloak!" Ron exclaimed. Sure enough, just then Harry appeared from thin air, holding something silvery.

"Wow! I've only ever heard of those!" I said in awe. "Who gave it to you?"

"I don't know," he said. "It was my dad's."

"Wow," I said again.

"Yeah," Ron said, real intelligently. The kitten had jumped onto my head and seemed to think that my hair was a bed, because it wrapped itself in my silky locks and made itself comfortable. Neither of the boys seemed to notice. "Look! A note fell out!" Ron suddenly yelled.

Harry seized the note, and I read over his shoulder:

_Your Father Left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. A Very Merry Christmas to you._

There was no signature. The handwriting was loopy and neat. Just then, Fred and George walked in, also wearing Weasley sweaters, with a big 'F' and 'G' on them, respectively (at least now I knew who was who!). Harry quickly stuffed the cloak out of sight. "Merry Christmas!" Fred said.

"Look, Harry's got one too. Wow, even Lilac has one!" George said.

"No surprise, Lee and Raphael got them too," Fred replied.

"Wow, she must knit a lot!" I said.

"It's her second favorite thing to do, after cooking," George said. Then they forced Ron to wear his maroon one.

"You haven't got a letter on yours," George observed, looking at Ron's sweater. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid - we know we're called Gred and Forge." They both stood back and Ron laughed. Apparently I would not be able to tell them apart, because George was wearing Fred's sweater and Fred was wearing George's. Great.

Percy, their older brother, stuck his head through the door. "Why's she in here?" he asked crossly, looking pointedly at me. "This is a boys' dormitory. And she's a Ravenclaw." I did want to be a prefect when I was older, but not as strict as Percy. Plus, there was no security on the boys' dormitory, implying that it was perfectly fine for me to be in here. As for my dorm, we had a number code.

I opened my mouth to argue these points, but was interrupted. "Oh, Percy," Fred sighed dramatically. "It's Christmas! We're all family here! And you're not allowed to take points from anyone today! And put on your sweater!" The twins pulled the sweater over his head, pinning his arms to the sides.

"I - don't - want - " said Percy, trying to fix his glasses, which had been knocked aside while battling his younger brothers.

"And you're not sitting with the prefects today, either," said George. "Christmas is a time for family." They each grabbed one of Percy's arms and marched him to the Great Hall. I burst out laughing.

Christmas dinner was amazing, along with the wizard crackers. I quite enjoyed these party favors. At the end of the feast, I ended up with several purple firecrackers, a book called 'Jinxes That No One Knows About' (that sounded like fun), and a pair of owl earrings (which were no use to me - maybe I would get my ears pierced after all). I watched Dumbledore swap his wizard hat out for a pink, flowered bonnet, while Snape just looked murderous at the very thought and sight of people having fun. Hagrid kept calling for more wine, getting redder and redder in the face, and finally kissed Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who must have been tipsy as well, because she giggled and blushed. Creepy.

We had a happy afternoon having a snowball fight on the grounds. It was Harry, Hermione and I against all of the Weasleys (Ron, Fred, George, and Percy), but the teams were pretty even because although Fred and George were the best, Percy was useless, and Hermione and I charmed the snowballs with the same curse we used to make some bounce off of Quirrell's turban, so they followed Fred and George around. They all started yelling at me because none of them could remember the counter-curse (not even Percy, and he was a 5th year! Ravenclaws Rock).

That was when I remembered: the dance. I ran to Ravenclaw tower, leaving the others very puzzled. My eyes started glowing. Great.

**Penny**

It felt like summer all over again, when I had been ignoring Lilac. I wasn't really doing anything wrong: it was just that I felt like I was doing something to her that I shouldn't be doing.

I knew she didn't like Draco, but that wasn't my problem. I guess it was just that ever since I had become a Slytherin, even though I had already technically been one since the moment I was born, I had been being really mean to her. Why couldn't I be friends with her and Draco? Maybe her friends weren't so gitty after all. I mean, yeah, Gryffindors, "oh-so-chivalrous" but their description wasn't their fault! Slytherins were almost forced to hate Gryffindors, but that didn't mean they weren't okay people.

"PENNY!" A voice pulled me out of Penny-land.

"Huh? What?" I snapped. Instead of an answer, I was given a potato. "What the heck!" I yelled.

"Peel it!" Mom's voice commanded, coming from nowhere and everywhere.

"Mom?" I asked, puzzled.

"PEEL THE POTATO!" the disembodied voice yelled.

"All right, all right, I'm peeling!" I started peeling the potato with a peeler that had appeared out of nowhere into my hand.

"Now make soup," she said.

"How the heck am I supposed to make soup with a potato and nothing else?" I demanded.

A stalk of rhubarb materialized next to me. "There. Now you have something else. NOW MAKE SOUP!"

I started trying to make soup, but how could I make soup without a pot? Suddenly, a cauldron appeared filled with boiling water (or Veritaserum, how was I supposed to know?). I put the potato in and immediately burned it. Yup, as everyone knows, I'm a horrible chef.

"The mandrakes are coming!" Mom's voice said.

"What the - "

"Hurry! They're coming! The evil chickens too!" I dropped the cauldron as I heard chickens clucking and mandrakes screaming. I looked behind me and a bunch of mandrakes were sitting in pots, yelling at the top of their lungs. About 6 chickens were chasing me with angry expressions on their faces. I ran into a wall and passed straight through. What was going on?

"STOP!" I yelled. Everything froze. Cool.

Suddenly, Draco appeared out of nowhere and threw a bubotuber at me. I dodged. "Bubotuber fight!" he yelled.

I giggled and suddenly a large stack of bubotubers sat in front of me. I grabbed one and chucked it, while dodging all of Draco's bubotubers. He was drenched in bubotuber pus by the time we finished our bubotuber fight. "Bubotuber hug!" he yelled, rushing towards me.

"Oh no!" I screamed, and ran away.

"MITTENS!" Raphael yelled. Where did he come from?

I whipped around, my eyes wide. "Where?"

"Just kidding," he said, chuckling. "Here, take this duct tape."

"What?" I said.

"Penny! Penny, wake up!" Draco's voice invaded my mind.

"Huh?" I opened my eyes and saw Draco's face inches from mine. His blue eyes looked into my green ones, concerned. "OH now I get it! It was a dream!"

Draco backed up, looking puzzled. "What?"

I took a deep breath. "I-dreamed-that-mom-made-me-peel-a-potato-and-made-me-make-soup-out-of-it-with-rhubarb-and-I-burned- it-in-a-cauldron-and-then-the-mandrakes-and-evil-chickens-were-coming-and-then-I-ran-through-a-wall-and- yelled-STOP-and-everything-stopped-and-we-had-a-bubotuber-fight-and-I-won-and-then-you-tried-to-give-me-a-bubotuber-hug-and-I-ran-away-and-Raphael-scared-me-with-fake-mittens-and..." I burst out laughing. It was a dream!

"Penny? Are you sure you're alright?" he asked.

"Yes," I managed to gasp out between laughs. "I'm fi - fine."

"Oooookay," he said uncertainly. I kept laughing for an hour.

**Lilac**

It was 5:00 PM. The ball, which included dinner, was going to be held in the East tower at 8:00. That meant I only had three hours to get ready!

I dashed up to Ravenclaw tower, my hair whipping around. "Two in a corner, 1 in a room, 0 in a house, but 1 in a shelter. What am I?" the phoenix sang.

My brain wasn't functioning properly (shocker!); I was freaking out too much. "Umm..." I started muttering to myself. "Come on, Lilac, don't let a simple riddle get you! Two in a corner... one in a room... what's not in a house? A restaurant? Oh! The letter r!"

"Correct!" the phoenix said, and the door swung open. I sped into my dormitory.

"Settle down, Lilac!" Cho said, watching me jump up and down.

"Sorry," I said, but only settled down a little bit. Padma was straightening her hair in the bathroom, Marietta was using the mirror to do her makeup, Cho was putting on jewelry, and Lisa was sitting on her bed, reading a book, having already done everything. I rummaged through the hangers in the closet in the corner until I found the three dresses my mom had sent. I calmed down a little bit.

I held the dresses up to my roommates. "Which one?"

"That one," Cho said, pointing to a long, sparkly light purple one.

"No, it's at night... it should be that one," Padma said, pointing to the one in my left hand. It was short on the right, but the cut was diagonal so it was right below my knees on the left. It was midnight purple with a gold belt and gold trimmings.

"Nope," Marietta said, looking up from her makeup. "That blue one." It was long and flowy, like water. The girls started arguing about which dress was the best.

"That one because it's dark and the ball's at night - "

"NO! That one, because it's prettier - "

"No! That one because it's sparkly - "

After about ten minutes of this, I yelled, "QUIET!" They all stared at me. "Okay. I'm going with the dark purple one - "

"YAY!" Padma shrieked.

I took a deep breath. "Because it's dark, it's sparkly, and it's pretty. There, everyone happy?" They went back to their business while Padma started helping me pick out jewelry and do my hair and makeup.

I put the dress on. "That looks beautiful," she breathed. Then she got to work on my hair. Two hours later (7:30) I stood in front of the mirror, admiring myself. I had paired the dress up with a few gold bangles that Padma gave me, gold flats, and a thin golden necklace.

My hair was up in a half-bun. It was like the top part of my hair was in a bun while the back hung down. Since I had so much hair, it still was the same size as a regular bun. I had interlaced it with these little gold beads on a clear string, so it looked like my hair was bejeweled.

Last but not least, I granted Lavender's wishes and... pierced my ears! Yes, I hadn't wanted to, but Padma said that since my hair was pulled back, I needed earrings. I was wearing long earrings that looked like gold droplets. You're probably thinking it was too much gold, but it looked dazzling. I was ready for the ball.


	15. Chapter 15

_Sorry for the late update everyone! But Chapter 15 is here at long last! And don't worry, it's long :)_

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

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**Chapter 15: The Ministry and the Christmas Ball**

**Penny**

The rest of the holidays were, surprisingly, pretty... normal. I hung out with Draco. Played Quidditch. Drank hot chocolate. Threw snowballs. I didn't have any weird dreams, discover secret passageways... nothing! I was pretty much bored.

Lilac did send me pictures of the ball. I'll admit, she looked pretty. She said Harry was a horrible dancer, which I didn't hesitate to believe. But he looked nice, as well. She said there was a surprise, but she wasn't going to tell me. Stupid Lilac! I felt like we were best friends again. Even though we hadn't spoken a word to each other for a long time, we had been owling each other a lot, and so we seemed to have come to an agreement: To be friends, but not be friends at the same time. Don't worry, it confuses me, too.  
**  
Lilac**

My shoes echoed on the stone floor as I walked to Gryffindor tower with Marietta. It was 7:45, and I really hoped the boys were ready.

"I'm so excited!" Marietta squealed.

"I can tell," I said. We reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Did you change the password?"

"Yes, I did, because you figured it out."

"Great," I grumbled.

"I suppose you want a peephole?" she asked good-naturedly.

"That would be nice." She opened up a little hole. I yelled into it. "HARRY! RON! WE'RE WAITING!"

The boys were inside, sitting at a table, playing wizard chess, still in their school robes. "What?" Ron looked up.

Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair, which didn't happen, of course. "Um, hi Lilac. We'll be right out."

"Hurry up, PLEASE! The ball is in 10 minutes!"

I paced while I waited for the boys, listening to Marietta talk to herself. A few moments later, they walked out. Harry was wearing a suit with a green shirt underneath that really brought out his eyes. Ron was also wearing a suit, with a maroon shirt underneath that somehow matched Marietta's baby pink dress perfectly. Well, they made a good pair. I just hoped the same could be said for Harry and me.

"You - er - look nice," he said awkwardly.

"Thanks," I replied. "Let's go to the East Tower, then."

"Okay," Harry said, looking a bit sick, as if he wished he could be anywhere else except the East Tower.

We walked to the East Tower. I braced myself, and opened the doors to the room where the ball was going to be held.

"LILAC!" Padma screamed. "You look even better than in the dormitory! And you didn't tell me your boyfriend was Harry POTTER!"

"He's not my - " I started to protest, but realized my efforts were fruitless as more girls gathered around me.

Dean Thomas was standing next to Harry. "I still can't work out how you got the best-looking girl in the year," he muttered. Wow, I was the best looking? That was probably the most amazing compliment I had ever gotten.

I heard whispers all over the room of people saying things like, "Potter and Starre - " "Wow, she's lucky - " "Wow, he's lucky - " Well, that's what you got when you went to a ball with a famous person.

Music came on, by the Weird Sisters. Now this was some stuff I could dance to! "Care to dance?" I asked Harry.

"Uh..." he said. He looked down, as if trying not to trip on his own feet. I tried to get him to dance, but the poor boy was so clumsy, he kept stepping on my toes. Who would have guessed that Harry Potter was a horrible dancer!

We resigned ourselves to walking around and mingling with all the other people. We were chatting with Ron and Marietta when I looked up. "Mistletoe," I commented.

"Er - " Harry started, glancing upwards.

"Yeah. Let's just walk away..." We walked to the right, but I looked up and realized that the whole ceiling was strung with mistletoe. Everyone was ignoring it, though, which was good. Very good. Very, extremely good. See, I may be a super genius, but even the most genius people on Earth may not know what to do when confronted with mistletoe.

Tiny Professor Flitwick stepped up to the stage, balancing on a pile of books. "Welcome to the Christmas Ball, first years!" he squeaked. Then he waved his hand, and 20 tables for two appeared. "Enjoy!"

Everyone shuffled to a table, and I sat down with Harry. He stared at his empty plate. I looked around and saw other people staring, too. Usually the food was just... there. Suddenly, menus appeared, so I picked mine up. It had a long list of yummy food on it. I wasn't sure what to do, and judging from the looks on people's faces, they didn't either. So I did the natural thing - I talked to the menu. "Spicy curry!" I said. It appeared on my plate. "Cool." Others followed my example, and soon everyone was digging into their food.

"So..." Harry said.

"So."

"Er - "

"Stop being awkward, Harry, if we were in any other situation we would be talking normally."

"Er - "

"Really! Piece together a sentence!"

"Um... "

"Harry, 'um' is not a sentence."

"...Er..."

At about 10 o'clock, Professor Flitwick stepped up again. "It is now time to pick the couple of the year! Please place your votes, if you would like to vote - " He waved his hand, and a slip of parchment appeared in front of each person - "and I will collect them in a few minutes. Thank you!"

I stared at the blank parchment in front of me, thinking about who I should vote for. After a few minutes, Professor Flitwick announced that he would be collecting our choices, and I still hadn't written anything. Harry hadn't either. They flew up into a neat pile on the front of the stage. "I will announce the winners in a few moments," he said, and picked up the pile, and walked into the next room.

Whispers about who would win swept through the room like a strong wind. I caught a few mentions of my name, but maybe I was just imagining it.

Professor Flitwick came back into the room, stood on the podium, and cleared his throat. "And the couple of the year is... "

**Penny**

Since we were all really bored, our parents decided to take us to work to see what it was like at the Ministry. Kind of like take-your-kid-to-work-day. Anyways, my dad is a Hogwarts school governor, and my mom works in the Department of Magical Transportation. She's partnered with Madame Edgecombe (Marietta from Ravenclaw's Mom) in Floo Regulation. Draco's dad is also a school governor, and his mom works in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Raphael and Leo stayed home, since they've all been to the Ministry several times.

Anyways, since Draco and I didn't work at the Ministry, we all had to use the guest entrance in London. We used side-along Apparition to get there, which was horrible. I hated that squeezing, dark feeling that came with Apparating.

We arrived at a shabby street, filled with several offices, a pub, and an overflowing dumpster. It didn't seem like the very grand entrance to the Ministry, but it was probably because they wanted it to stay hidden from the muggles. An old red telephone booth stood in front of a graffitied wall, on the end of the street, and was missing a few panes of glass.

"After you, Penny," Mum said, ushering me in, her hair whipping around as she stepped in with Dad. Draco's family crowded in after us. I looked around. It was really small and cramped, and the receiver was broken. The dial looked worn and rusty.

"This is only the second time I've used the guest entrance," Dad muttered. "Let's see..." He seemed to be wracking his brain for something that he needed to type in.

"Six two four four two," Mr. Malfoy supplied. I thought. On a keypad, that spelled "Magic."

"Oh yes," Dad said. "Thanks, Lucius."

The dial creaked back into place and a cool female voice sounded inside the telephone booth, like it was coming from speakers planted everywhere. "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."

"Falco Storm," Dad said. "Hogwarts School Governor, here with Lucius Malfoy, also a Hogwarts School Governor, Narcissa Malfoy, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and Leticia Storm, Department of Magical Transportation. Escorting visitors Penelope Storm and Draco Malfoy to..." He wasn't sure what we were here for.

"To help us with work," Mom said.

"Thank you," said the voice. "Visitors, please take a badge and attach it to the front of your robes." I looked down. I wasn't wearing robes. I was wearing a green shirt with a snake-and-crossbones on it, a black leather jacket, dark blue skinny jeans, and combat boots. Draco was also wearing Muggle clothes, but he just shrugged and took a badge, and so did I, and I pinned it to my jacket pocket. "Visitor to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium."

The floor shook, and I screamed, "EARTHQUAKE!"

Narcissa laughed. "Penny dear, it's just the box moving. Obviously, the Ministry is underground. How else would they hide it from all the silly Muggles?" She had a way of insulting people without making it seem like she was insulting them. We sunk into the floor, until everything was dark. I heard a dull grinding noise as the telephone box shuddered its way down to the Ministry. After a minute or two, a golden light illuminated the box.

"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day," the cool voice said. The door sprang open and I followed my parents out.

It was freaking amazing.

We were at the end of a beautiful long hall with a polished, wooden floor. The golden symbols on the blue ceiling were continually moving and changing to form notices, like a giant animated bulletin board. On the sides of the hall, there were a ton of fireplaces, which had long lines of wizards and witches in front of them, and every so often someone would appear in one of them, along with a handful of green sparks.

A golden fountain stood halfway down the hall, depicting a house-elf, a goblin, and a centaur looking adoring up at a powerful-looking wizard and a pretty witch. A sign at the bottom said, All proceeds from the Fountain of Magical Brethren will be given to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

"This way," Lucius said, making his way through the throngs of witches and wizards. Some were carrying books, or tottering piles of parchment. Most were walking with bags slung over their shoulders, wearing glum, early morning expressions. We walked to the very end, where there was a security desk. A witch in blue robes to match the ceiling looked up as we approached and put down her Daily Prophet.

"Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, Mr. and Mrs. Storm. What can I help you with today?" she asked in a cheery voice.

"We're escorting two visitors," Dad said.

"Step over here," she said, gesturing to the left side of the desk. Draco and I walked over there. She passed a long, thin, and flexible golden rod up and down our fronts and backs, like at an airport. "May I see your wands?" she asked. I handed her my oak and phoenix feather wand, and Draco handed over his hawthorne and unicorn tail hair wand.

The witch put both the wands on a golden dish, which began to vibrate, and then a strip of parchment came out of a strip at the base of the dish, like a receipt at a store. The witch read the writing. "10 ¼ inches, oak and phoenix feather, been in use since September. Is that correct?"

"Yes," I said, knowing that was my wand.

"And the other one," she said. "is 10 inches, hawthorn and unicorn tail hair, also been in use since September."

"That's right," Draco said.

"I'll keep these," the witch said, impaling the pieces of parchment onto a brass spike, "and you can have your wands back."

"Thanks," I said.

"Thanks, Lucinda," Mum said, and we all walked towards the lifts.

Twenty golden elevators stood behind gold grilles. We joined the small crowd around one of them. "Penny, you want to go with me?" Mum asked.

"Sure."

"Draco can go with Narcissa, as visitors aren't allowed on Level One," Lucius said.

"Actually, can I go with Penny? That way I'll have some company." I flashed him a 'thanks' smile.

"That's a good idea," Narcissa said thoughtfully as we stepped into the elevator.

The same voice from the telephone booth filled the space again as we ascended. "Level Seven, Department of Magical Games and Sports, incorporating the British and Irish League Headquarters, Offical Gobstones Club, and Ludicrous Patents Office."

The doors opened, and, as several light purple paper airplanes swooped in, a few wizards got out. One was wearing yellow and black robes, one was carrying a large pot filled with some sort of purple jelly, and one was waving a flag and shouting something in German. Interesting.

I caught a glimpse of the room that the wizards got off in; an untidy-looking corridor, with random Quidditch posters tacked lopsidedly on the walls, and witches and wizards bustling about. One of the doors on the far end was open, and I could see a giant pink room, where wizards were testing out new editions of broomsticks, and shouting, "Wheeeeee!" Very mature, I'm sure.

"What's with the paper airplanes?" Draco asked, voicing the question in my head.

"Just Interdepartmental memos," Dad said. "We used to use owls, but they created such a mess... droppings everywhere, and the Ministry doesn't have an Owlery like Hogwarts does..." I laughed, imagining owls pooping on Ministry workers' heads.

"Level Six, Department of Magical Transport, incorporating the Floo Network Authority, Broom Regulatory Control, Portkey Office, and Apparation Test Center." The voice said as we came to a stop again.

"This is where we get off," Mum said. "Come along now, Penny and Draco." We followed her out. I wondered what was on Level One, because of course I knew that Level Five was the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Level Four was the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, Level Three was the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, and Level Two was the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I heard Mr. Malfoy saying that he and Dad worked on Level One, so maybe that was home to Minister Fudge's office, as well as other high-ranking officials like Hogwarts School Governors.

I looked around and found myself in a corridor. The walls seemed to be constantly changing colors, from white, through several shades of gray, to black, and then back to gray and white. "Feel free to look around," Mum said. Draco followed me to a room with a red door that said, "Apparation Test Center."

"This looks interesting," I said with a mischievous grin, poking my head inside. What greeted me was a large room with several hula-hoops lying on the ground. I strolled into the room, followed closely by Draco.

"Eh, you! Yes, you, lil' 'uns," someone said in a thick Cockney accent. "Would'ja mind helpin' me a mo'?" He hopped over, and I say hopped because he was missing a leg. "I've been splinched, ya see, an' I need some 'elp 'ere."

Draco sneered, so I punched him and said, "All right. So where's your leg?" He wasn't bleeding, so I assumed that he or someone else had already applied Essence of Dittany.

"O'er there," he said, pointing to the right. "It keeps movin' on it's own, ya see. Hard ta catch when you're waddlin' around like me!" His words were true, as I saw a leg that looked like it belonged to him hopping around.

"So... um... how am I supposed to help you?"

"Do you know nuttin' 'bout Apparation, young 'un? Easy as puttin' the leg on and sayin' 'Episkey', innit?"

"Um, sure," I said, trying not to giggle as I watched Draco trying to catch it with little success.

Finally, after about 5 minutes, he handed it over to me breathlessly. "I - didn't - know," he said between gasps of breath, "that - it would be - so hard - to catch a - leg!"

I grinned. "I can see that." I put the leg next to where it should be on the man, and said, "Episkey."

"Thanks, lil' 'un! Well, better get back ta work, an' all... gotta love this job!" He walked off, now fully healed. Why anyone would love getting splinched every few minutes, I don't know. It was painful and annoying. But the whole room was full of wizards Apparating into the hula-hoops and out of them, doing tricks like leaving half of their body on one side of a big white screen, deliberately splinching themselves, putting dittany on themselves, and appearing on the other side of the screen. This made it look like the screen, which was made of cloth, was splitting them down the middle. Why would anyone want to do that?

I went back into the hall, where Mum was waiting for us. "Like that room, do you?"

"It was alright," I replied, stifling a giggle when Draco looked at me funny.

"Well, I'll be in here if you need me," she said, giving me a weird look. She went into a door marked, 'Floo Network Authority.'

I caught Draco's eye and he grinned. "This is going to be fun."

**Lilac**

"Milicent Bulstrode and Gregory Goyle!"

"WHAT!" I looked around wildly, in disbelief, before I realized that Harry had said that in my ear while we were waiting for Flitwick to announce the winners.

"Very funny, Harry," I said sarcastically. He just laughed.

"Harry Potter and Lilac Starre!"

"WHAT!" I said for the second time, but my brain, being on autopilot, had me leading Harry up to the stage by the hand.

"Congratulations, Mr. Potter and Miss Starre! You are the couple of the year!"

This is when my brain decided to start working, as I was about to just say 'wow.' Instead, my brain made me give a very intelligent speech about getting the award, etc. etc. Harry just stood there. There is a saying that goes, "If you want something said, ask a man... If you want something done, ask a woman." In this case, the woman seemed to be doing both. Hee hee.

**Penny**

We went to the Portkey Office next. It was a large, pure white room. The walls kind of glowed with this white energy from within. It was pretty awesome.

A few desks stood by the walls of the room, but most of it was taken up by junk. I spied a large, smelly boot, an empty soup can, a chair, a TV remote, and random other things that were used as Portkeys.

A paper airplane shot above my head, and I saw that a lady standing in the corner was throwing them out the door, telling them where to go. "Level Four, Spirit Division, Callidora Thyme," she muttered. "Level Five, Barty Crouch. Level Three, Obliviator Headquarters, Arlink Miffle." I watched her for a few minutes, fascinated with the different people and places and departments and levels in the Ministry.

In the other corner, a balding wizard in purple robes was reading an extremely long piece of parchment that was trailing to the floor, also muttering to himself, "One in Manchester... Three in Hogsmeade... Two in Worcestershire... One in Oxfordshire... Five in London..."

A young wizard was pointing his wand at assorted objects according to what the old wizard was murmuring. "What was that, Frank? How many in Hogsmeade?" the young wizard yelled at the old one.

"Are you deaf, Philip? Three!" Frank yelled back grumpily.

Philip, the young wizard, pointed his wand at the Portkeys, enveloping three of them in a glowing blue light. While they were glowing, he instructed, "Go to Hogsmeade." They disappeared in a flash of blue. So far, no one in the room had seen us, which I found quite humorous. We ducked outside to explore the last room, the Floo Network Authority, where Mom worked.

"Good morning, children!" Madame Edgecombe said. Her daughter, Marietta, was a Ravenclaw in my year.

"Good morning, Madame Edgecombe," I said, with my Slytherin Charmingness. I looked around the HUGE room, and I mean HUGE . Miniature fireplaces dotted the green and blue walls, and I mean everywhere. Up to the ceiling, every wall was covered with mini fireplaces, with mini people that threw powder in and stepped into the green flames, then reappeared in another fireplace somewhere. Each fireplace was about the size of my fist, and the room was HUGE (I've already said that). Next to each fireplace was a little switch to turn the Floo on and off, so that my mom and Madame Edgecombe could control who Flooed and who didn't.

Mom saw me staring at the fireplaces, and she said, "These are all the fireplaces in England that we are in charge of." While she was saying that, she flipped the tiny switch to turn a couple of them off. "Muggles," she muttered. Then, by way of explanation, she said, "Wizards have to alert us if they're going to use a Muggle fireplace, so we can turn it on." I nodded, but at the same time my brain was absorbed in all the different things going on around me.

"Run along now, children," Madam Edgecombe said. "Explore the Ministry!"

And so we did. And we had fun.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: The Mirror of Erised**

**Lilac**

In the morning at breakfast, I went to the Gryffindor table when Harry, looking excited, beckoned me over. "You've read 'Hogwarts, A History', right?"

"Duh. Seriously, Harry. I've read every book in the library and we're not even halfway through the year."

"Have you heard of a mirror that shows you your family?"

"No," I replied. "But there are a few special mirrors known to the magical world."

"I'm listening."

"The Mirror of Erised shows you what your heart desires. The inscription on the top says, "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi", which, backwards, says, "I show not your face but your heart's Desire."

"That's it!" Harry said excitedly. "That's what the mirror said!"

"Really? Well, there you have it. Why do you need to know anyways? And you SAW the Mirror of Erised?"

"Last night! I was running away from Filch and I went in this empty classroom... and I saw this mirror... and my family was in it." Poor guy. He had never seen any of his family, and here I was complaining about my 52 cousins.

You've got to show me this room, Harry," I said. "Maybe we could check out the mirror more closely and see if anything else is hidden there."

"It was just an empty classroom. I went last night under the invisibility cloak by accident. I was looking for Nicolas Flamel in the restricted section, and then Filch came, so I ran into the first room I could find. It's by the kitchens, and there's a suit of armor next to the door."

"We can go tonight."

"All right."

I spent the day researching other mirrors known to the magical world. I found nothing. NOTHING! The library had FAILED ME! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Anyways, I walked up to Gryffindor Tower after lights-out and tried to, once again, guess the password. Hopefully, I asked, "Is it still Felix Navitatis?"

The Fat Lady laughed and shook her head. "You know I would change it if you knew it, Lilac..."

"Um... Nollaig Shona? Merry Christmas in Irish?"

"You have quite the imagination, sweetheart."

"Ugh!" I started listing 'Merry Christmas' in every language I could think of. "Geseënde Kersfees? Gëzuar Krishtlindjet... عيد ميلاد مجيد. Uh, Շնորհավոր Սուրբ Ծնունդ:, Eguberri, З Калядамі, Весела Коледа, Bon Nadal, 圣诞节快乐, Sretan Božić, Veselé Vánoce, Glædelig jul, Gelukkig kerstfeest, Feliĉa Kristnasko, Häid jõule, Maligayang Pasko, hyvää joulua, Joyeux Noël - "

"That's it!"

"You could have told me it was in FRENCH!"

"I just guard the portrait hole. I don't give hints," she said, winking and swinging open. I walked in to find Harry sitting at a table in the Common Room with Ron, playing a game of wizard chess. He had found a chess set at the feast, and he was breaking them in by losing spectacularly. So far, Ron had all of his pieces on the board and Harry had three.

I leaned over to whisper in Harry's ear. "Move your knight to the right twice and upwards."

"Check," he said to Ron.

"No fair! Lilac helped you!"

"He needs all the help he can get," I said, chuckling.

"Hey!" Harry protested. "I'm not that bad!"

"Hate to break it to you mate, but Lilac's right," Ron said.

"Thank you, Ron!" I said, and all three of us collapsed into giggles. "Ready to go?"

"Let me grab the cloak," Harry said, and dashed upstairs.

I sighed. "Boys are never prepared."

Ron asked, "So will I see my family? I don't really have an interest in seeing my family. But seeing Harry's family would be cool, and yours, too."

I snorted. "You don't want to see MY family. Lavender Brown and Aunt Delphinium and all those other nasty people. They ALL have flower names!"

Ron laughed. "That's crazy!"

"I know, right?"

"Do I HAVE to see your family?"

I giggled. "You probably won't, actually. Everyone sees something different in the mirror. It shows you your Heart's Desire. Honestly, I don't know what mine is. I hope it's not, like... I don't know, getting 500% on a test or something... what do you think yours is?"

Ron shifted and looked uncomfortable. "There are a few things... but I guess I'll just have to see."

Harry came back down with the invisibility cloak. "Took you long enough!" Ron said. He threw the cloak over all three of us and attempted to find the way to the room with the mirror.

After about an hour, I shivered and said, "Maybe it was moved..."

"No, it has to be here!" Harry said. We passed a suit of armor. "Oh, this is it!" We went inside an empty classroom and there was the mirror, tall in all of its glory. Harry dropped the cloak and ran to stare at the mirror. "See?" he whispered.

Ron came up behind him. "I can't see anything."

"But there are loads of them... my whole family!"

"I can only see you."

I chimed in. "I don't think you can see other people's heart's desires. Just your own."

"All right then." Ron nudged Harry out of the way and stepped in front of the mirror. "Whoa!"

"What do you see?" Harry asked eagerly.

"I'm older - I'm Head Boy! I'm wearing the badge like Bill used to - and I'm holding the House cup and the Quidditch cup - I'm Quidditch Captain, too!" I suddenly understood. Ron had been overshadowed by his brothers all his life. Whatever he did, they had done it better. His heart's desire was to be the best.

I couldn't pretend I wasn't interested. "Can I have a look?"

"Oh - sure..." Ron said. He continued to peek over the edge of the mirror.

I looked into the Mirror of Erised and saw... myself. Then someone walked in. It was Penny. We hugged and screamed, jumped up and down like we used to. Everything was back to normal.

My heart's desire was...

To be friends with Penny again?


End file.
